


Finding Someone

by Selion



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Ghoul Sex, M/M, Slow Romance, main quest, old fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 18:05:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 37
Words: 69,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10667970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selion/pseuds/Selion
Summary: Slow burn story of mLW falling in love/lust with Charon. Journeying, flirting, some smut. Follows a trip from Underworld to Megaton and then the main story from The Waters of Life through Take it Back! with some added stuff.





	1. Underworld and Ahzrukhal

**Author's Note:**

> This story is long as hell, and I wrote it early 2013 as my very first foray into any kind of creative writing. It's a terrible idea to dump on your art as you're presenting it, but sheesh, I can't resist. It ain't the best but I had a blast writing it at the time and it's really not too terrible. Thank you if you give it a read.

After a week of hard traveling, Mouse had arrived at Carol's Place, the small, cheery tavern in the far corner of Underworld. The dust he shook from his boots and brushed from the cuffs of his pants sifted to the marble floor, joining the rest of the collected works of similar such wanderers and traders. He let his legs stretch out, knees and ankles crackling, and turned his attention to focus solely on the bowl of noodles in front of him. _I need to learn how to pack my supplies better_ , he thought, eating ravenously. Carol tended the restaurant counter nearby and watched his food inhalation with partially concealed amusement.

Mouse had entered the museum proper and promptly went into the wrong door; the giant spot-lit skull door just looked too convenient. There had been a fairly large number of ferals wandering around, and he felt a little sad as he scouted through the area. He supposed it was technically putting them out of their misery, but he still felt bad. If you watched them together without being seen, they sometimes stopped and stared at each other or touched the others' arm. Like they almost remembered what they were missing.

The detour wasn't a total bust though, plenty of expensive junk to pick up. So he'd headed into the real ghoul city, pack stuffed with things to trade, ready for some food and conversation.

His main reason for the trip out to the Mall was actually a suggestion from a friend of his in Megaton. Gob worked at the bar there and he and Mouse had got to talking about their families. Underworld was brought up, and Mouse jumped on a chance to visit someplace new. _Right. So, here I am, message-running and sight-seeing_. Mouse finally noticed Carol trying not to stare at him and was startled into a noodle-filled gust of laughter.

"Sorry!" she squeaked. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you do that... you just..." she had jumped at the outburst and now grabbed a towel for his broth-covered arm.

"No, no problem. Didn't mean to lose my manners there, I was starving," he smiled at her, trying to be reassuring. "Sorry." He wiped off his arm and truly made an effort to eat more slowly. He finished his food and had his promised chat with Carol, relaying the greetings and well-wishes from Gob and then ended up renting a room for the night.

She smiled and waved him on to his quarters. Mouse picked up his gear and deposited it in the small room, eyeing the bed hungrily. _Almost sleep time; just wanna check out one more place today_. He grabbed his caps and headed for the bar with the curious name on the other side of the museum.

Both establishments were constructed and lit the same way, but where Carol's place had been cheery and friendly, the Ninth Circle seemed... a little off, to put it simply. The yellow lights looked greasier, the atmosphere coming from the patrons seemed uneasy and dull, and the rooms felt like they were filled with an invisible murk. A radio played on the counter top, GNR, the standard fare of Three Dog shouting about raiders and hiding under beds. A pretty impressive collection of liquor was set up behind the suited ghoul waiting for him to approach.

"Well now, a smoothskin I ain't never seen before. What can Ahzrukhal get you?" He spoke with the signature rasp of all ghouls, but with a strange phlegmy gasp between sentences. His eyes constantly darted around the room, before settling back on the human in front of him. Mouse didn't like the suspicious, jumpy air around him, but honestly, that's just how some people were. He ignored it and nodded his head in brief greeting.

"Nice to meet you Ahzrukhal. Name's Mouse," he said, deciding against offering his hand. "Just a soda and a box of chips if you have any."

"40 caps for that, Mr. Mouse." _Huh, Mister Mouse, sure_. He rustled in the back, collecting a bottle. "What brings you to Underworld anyway?" He peered behind him with that shifty glance again.

"Just adventure, I guess. Looking for loot, trade, and something worth spending my caps on," he answered vaguely. A cautious feeling had crept over him after listening to the ghoul speak. This was an odd person and he didn't feel like venturing any information.

Ahzrukhal huffed a laugh at that. "Is that so? Well look no further, I'm happy to take any caps you have," he finished his sentence with a leer.

Mouse took his drink and snack silently and had a seat at the bar. A second warning bell went off in his mind at the phrasing of that last statement, but once again he ignored it. Instead, he surveyed the room again as he crunched through his chips. The yellow light shone on the glass bottles in the back, the radio was now playing a soft Billy Holliday song, and Ahzrukhal had turned around and was busy cleaning a cup with a dirty rag. There was a wall safe and a terminal behind the bar; standard for most shops and restaurants he'd come across. The ghouls around the bar sat slumped or leaning and the murmur from the adjoining room was quiet and slurred sounding. Then he turned toward the corner.

The tallest ghoul he'd ever seen was standing there like a sentinel. Broad shoulders and chest encased in leather armor, gloved hands balling into fists and relaxing again, and a sleek combat shotgun hanging on his back. He exuded an aura of... calm rage. Mouse felt a thrill of alarm as the ghoul slowly turned to fix Mouse with a pale blue glare.

The ghoul did nothing but continue to stare back, then raised an eyebrow slightly and slowly turned to face the door again, disinterested with the lack of apparent threat from Mouse. He stood a head taller than everyone else Mouse had seen lately, save the few super mutants he'd run into on the way. And that feeling of anger emanating from him... tense body, fists clenching, furrowed brow. _Wouldn't want him angry at me_ , he thought, examining the huge frame and powerful-looking hands.

Mouse returned his attention to his drink. He stayed there, staring and lost in thought. Wondering where he'd move on to tomorrow, what new things he would see. He had left Vault 101 about a year ago and arrived in Megaton shortly after. He'd gotten in good with the sheriff after painstakingly disarming the gigantic nuke that sat undetonated right in the middle of the town. Mouse wasn't much shakes at electronics, but his father, James, had carefully and patiently taught him the basics of circuitry and computers when he was young. Mouse had had to scrounge up some old books and study them furiously to reinforce the old lessons and keep the shakes out of his hands when he finally sat down to poke around inside the deadly thing. After his success there, gratitude from Sheriff Simms had gotten him a decent home to call his own. The water was dirty, sure, but that's how it was all over the wasteland. Maybe the entire world, save the vaults, as far as he knew.

…Yeah, the vaults. _His vault_. That last day had been a disaster; the vault door had been opened, his father was gone, an infestation of giant roaches had swarmed in from somewhere, people had died, and the entire vault had fallen into chaos. He'd made a bad enemy of the Overseer, seemingly just for still being there. The Overseer had held James responsible for the entire thing, and Mouse was the only one left to blame. So he had left… well, let's face it, fled, after making sure his friends Amata and Butch were okay and not in any immediate danger. Megaton was thankfully close to the vault. He had made his way there, feelings of anger, betrayal, and confusion pounding in his head.

Being fresh out of the vault, Mouse had little knowledge of how things went in the wastes. He made a fast, and odd, friend of an eccentric lady named Moira Brown, who ran a shop in Megaton. She often seemed slightly insane, but when Mouse came to her with a question, she knew the answer or would make the effort to try to find out for him. Some of his questions had even prompted her to send him out on little "reconnaissance missions" for her, to gather information for the guidebook she was writing. It was a big help to have someone more or less in the know, and it was nice to just have a friend, someone to talk to. Since leaving the vault he'd felt very alone, no one out here really gave a rat's ass about anyone else; they were just trying to concentrate on keeping themselves alive. It was rare to find anyone who showed genuine interest in you, so he was happy to help her out and just hang around the shop and talk sometimes.

He passed his time doing many favors and errands for the odd people he met. Finding and shaking down an ex-whore for one guy, salvaging and repairing a dish for radio reception, finding and exploring the site of THE Project Purity his dad had reverently talked about so many times. Throughout it all though, his main focus was to locate his father and find out why, for god's sake, he had left the vault, and if he was even still alive.

People had always seemed surprised at his willingness to help them out, but he secretly enjoyed being sent on the many interesting errands for people. Exploring the wastes never got old. There were mountains of discoveries to find; pre-war journals and computer entries, strange people, even stranger creatures, technologies that had a huge array of functions, and locations that were beautiful, if desolate.

And yet, living in the safe haven of Megaton made it easy to forget that the world was cruel and unforgiving. He ventured out on his own quite a bit; usually with no event, but there were always times when things went horribly wrong.

He remembered one particular instance: He had spotted a church in the distance, and ran up, curious to see what could still be left. The place had looked completely abandoned, so he walked up without much thought. A moment later, a screaming, wide-eyed girl shot out from the far side of the church. A gout of fire followed her, and she had burned to death there, howling and blackening in front of Mouse. She had looked up at him as her hair caught aflame and melted, and then her head was engulfed and she collapsed. Following her was a laughing, dirt-encrusted raider with a flamethrower. He looked up and saw Mouse staring in horror, stunned. Feeling like the world was going in slow motion, Mouse wheeled around and scrambled for the corner of the church. A step away and he felt the left side of his torso turn hot, then numb. He'd fumbled his pistol out and retreated along the side of the church, curling his hand down to instinctively shield where his shirt and some of his skin had been burnt off, and hoping the raider was dumb enough to follow him around instead of doubling back. He was. Mouse sent three bullets directly into his head. He had felt horrible, both physically and mentally, and shacked up at the church for the rest of the day and night. He had been burnt in a large patch over his ribs and used up most of his water trying to keep the shiny and crisped skin cool and hydrated. He stayed the night, shivering with the cold and the sickening pain coming from his burn. By the time the sun came up, he could move again without being in agony, and slowly made his way back to Megaton. He was lucky that the burn hadn't become infected. Lucky that quite a few things hadn't happened. Lesson learned. He felt like there were so many tricks and tactics, and just plain common sense, that he didn't have access to because he was a newcomer here. In the vault, everything was provided for you and, at least until the day the blast door had opened, completely safe. He felt like a bumbling idiot at times, and lamented that the only real way to learn out here was experience. The saying 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' certainly applied out here, but more often than not it was a case of 'there's so much shit out to kill you that that doesn't really matter'. Sitting in the bar now, he absently traced the ridge of healed burn tissue under his shirt and frowned. _Stupidity is rewarded with pain. Yes._

And after many sights seen, people met, and barren locales discovered, Mouse had finally tracked his dad to an old, well-preserved vault hidden in a run-down auto body shop. He had read about virtual reality from some old holodisks in the dark recesses of vault 101's extensive library, but to actually experience it had been a jarring and amazing event. He had made the bizarre rescue, and James was now happily working away at Project Purity with his old colleagues. The reunion had been strange. They were both happy to see each other, tearful even, besides James' reproach of Mouse for leaving the vault to look for him. But after that, James had immediately wanted to set off to find Dr. Li and to continue with his research on producing clean water. He had seemed a little obsessed, but after thinking on it for a long time, Mouse could understand why his dad wanted to keep going with Project Purity instead of trying to settle down and live somewhere in relative safety. He knew it had been his mother's great dream to see Project Purity completed, and his father was no different. Mouse had escorted him to Rivet City, cleared out the research facility at the memorial, and been on his way to let them work in peace. He hadn't been to visit them in a while... maybe he would stop by the next time he was at Rivet City to see Harkness, old Doc Preston, and...

He was startled out of his memories by a rough bump.

Glancing around quickly and out of reflex putting a hand to his back to grasp at a rifle that wasn't there, _duh, it's in the room at Carol's along with everything else_ , he saw Ahzrukhal making a shame-faced smirk at him.

"So sorry, smoothskin. Didn't mean to bang into you there. Apologies." He continued smirking and moved away, back to the far end of the bar. Mouse grunted and glanced at his watch and saw it was very late; he had sat there drinking and woolgathering for nearly an hour. The few remaining ghouls up at the bar with him had graduated from drunken slumping to being fast asleep on the counter, heads resting on folded arms. One was snoring lightly. Ahzrukhal looked to be putting things away and getting ready to shut the bar for the night.

Mouse stood up and quickly realized something on his body felt off. There was a bulk missing from his pocket... his bag of bottlecaps. _No way_ , he thought angrily, face becoming hot, and hair prickling. _Is that what that was about?_ Still standing rigid from his discovery, his eyes slowly traveled to rest on Ahzrukhal. He was typing on an old computer, and looked up as he realized someone was staring at him. He smirked, an evil glint in his eye, as if to say _what, want to say something?_

"You took my money." Mouse said in a flat emotionless voice.

Ahzrukhal's smirk widened into a sleazy grin. "I did nothing of the sort, smoothskin. You better watch making accusations like that."

Mouse stood, barstool squalling against the floor, and started walking toward Ahzrukhal, intending to punch his lights out.

The ghoul flicked his eyes to the corner, and then back to Mouse, smile still frozen on his face.

Before Mouse could set his foot down on his third step toward the disgusting scumbag, the corner of his eye caught a blur of movement and a huge leather-clad arm closed around his neck. A hard, cold piece of metal was pressed against his lower spine. Mouse froze, his mind whirling and blood racing. With a chill he realized, _it's the bouncer. How fast is this guy? He's as big as a house but moves like a snake or something._ The arm holding him still felt like a vise. Mouse was a strong guy, but this monster that had him in a headlock had him beat by far. He didn't want his guts blasted out his front, so he stopped moving and raised his hands in an 'I'm unarmed' gesture.

Ahzrukhal let out a gurgly chuckle. "Wise choice, kid. You had something I want, so I took it. I have the muscle to back it up, as you've realized, and no one down here gives a shit what happens to some no-name smoothskin. So go on, get out. Maybe I won't have him break anything if you leave now and keep your mouth shut."

_This isn't over_ , he fumed on the inside. Bartenders robbing patrons... why? Because he wasn't a ghoul? Because he mentioned he had a few caps with him? Because no one cares and he can get away with it? _I guess so. It's the fucking wasteland. Take what you can_.

He could barely move his head and it was starting to be difficult to breathe, even though the entire encounter had taken less than fifteen seconds. He managed a small nod.

"Good. See him out, Charon."

_Charon, then. Shah-run._ The mysterious hulking ghoul with anger etched into his face had a name. Charon relaxed and withdrew his arm, but didn't remove the barrel of the shotgun from Mouse's back. He only spoke one word, in a deep grumble.

"Out."

Finality rang in the one short syllable. Mouse turned toward the door, and snuck a sideways glance at the guy who had ambushed him. He was tall and broad and oddly... vibrant. In a world where everything was dust and dirt and weariness, Charon exuded some kind of aura of energy and liveliness. Ironic, considering what kind of being he was. He glanced up at the ragged face and saw the anger again, but now it was tempered by another emotion lurking just beneath the surface. Sadness, or regret... longing maybe. Then his eyes hardened again and he growled at Mouse.

Mouse left.


	2. Unexpected Help

He stalked the lower level of Underworld, pacing back and forth and seething. How was he going to get his cash back? His entire sum of money was in that filthy sleaze ball's possession now. Mouse's eyes closed in frustration, teeth grinding together as he stomped down the main hall. _I was too trusting._ Was it even worth it to try to recover his stuff? Was it even possible to get back in there without the hulking bodyguard ripping his arms off? Maybe he deserved it. _This is what you get for practically falling asleep in front of strange bartenders._ _Idiot._ He had snoozed and then, well, losed, as the saying went. He whirled back around and crashed into a flailing, snuffling body.

"Gaaaahhh!" A ghoul was laying on the floor, squirming around and whining pathetically. Mouse knelt by him and touched his shoulder. _I've made more physical contact with ghouls in ten minutes than I have my entire life, what's the deal,_ he thought wryly, his money problems and anger momentarily set aside.

"I'm so sorry, wasn't watching where I was going." Mouse looked at him, concerned. The ghoul looked pretty out of it but he didn't think he'd bumped him that hard. "Hey," Mouse shook him gently. "Hey, you okay, man?"

"Mmmmph. Yeaaaah yeah I'm.. 'm'alright. You're a... harder wall than I ..ffthought." The ghoul sat up and shook his head, fair hair flopping around. "Uuugh, I'll jush..just sit. Right here. For a while." He levered his way up from the floor to the bench that was nearby.

"Are you sure? You seem kind of...uh." Mouse trailed off, not really sure if it was polite to finish what he was thinking.

"Ohhh, no. I'm always a little ... you know." He lunged forward a little, body tilting.

Mouse squinted at him. "You're really drunk aren't you?"

The ghoul opened his eyes widely, and attempted to look offended. "What are YOU trying to say about ME ... no, no, you're right." He wiped his hand across his face and looked like he was trying to focus. "Patchwork, that's me. Town drunk, 's'nicetameetcha. Though I'd like to be more drunk, if you catsshh my meaning." He made a groggy wink at Mouse.

Mouse stared at him, dumbfounded. This guy looked like he was ready to keel over and sleep for a week, and he wanted to drink more? _... Drink, huh. Like at the bar._ Maybe he knew something that could help Mouse get back into the Ninth Circle to reclaim his money. He wasn't really sure what this reeling mess could tell him but it was worth a shot to ask.

"Hey… uh…"

Patchwork looked around, craning his head like those pre-war birds, owls. Blinking kind of like one too.

"You c'n jush call me Patches, if you... if you like that. Mosht people don't even... wait-wha..."

"Patches," he agreed. Mouse rushed to think of what to ask before the dazed ghoul zonked out. _Umm._ "When does the Ninth Circle close? And do you know where Ahzrukhal sleeps?" It was a long shot, but the only one he really had. Otherwise he'd have to do this completely blind.

"Well, they closhe... clo… _close_ in th' middle of the night. 'N then you can't get a drink until breffus." Patches giggled and winked in what was probably supposed to be a conspiratorial manner. It ended up just looking very silly, but went along well with the ridiculous stage-whisper he started speaking in, "I try to sneak in there all the time after hoursss. Charon alwaysh boots me out though. Can't keep quiet enough to make it up to the bar. The shecond Ahzzzerkal hears me, he hollers from the back room and that big guy comes right out and picksh me up and dumps me outshide. Can't even believe it." He sniffed. "Good thing Charons likesh me, I don't think he'd be so nice to anyone elsh. A toss down the shtairs is pretty good treatment from him."

Mouse sat back on his heels and processed what he'd heard. It was far more info than what he'd hoped for. Ahzrukhal and Charon stayed in a back room when the bar was closed. He had seen a safe behind the bar. If his caps were there, he would be set. Hopefully the scummy barkeep didn't keep everything on his person... then he'd be out of luck. It was worth a try though. Even if his stuff wasn't in the safe, there had to be _something_ there. _Why else have a damn safe?_ With the issue of Ahzrukhal hearing him, Mouse was fairly slenderly built and could move nearly silently when he had to. Years of boredom in the vault had been ample time for training his muscles and his sneaking abilities. He thought back to the several times he'd managed to quietly sneak up on Butch and dump a bottle of water on his carefully coiffed hair. _Gotcha, nosebleed._ Hope somewhat restored, Mouse stood up, thanked Patches, and headed for his rented room at Carol's to grab a few supplies for the attempt and wait for closing time. Patchwork weakly called after him:

"Heeeeey, don't forget to bring me back... somefing." Mouse glanced back and saw Patches had already slumped against the wall and his eyes were barely open. He smirked and bounded up the stairs.


	3. The Heist

His pack was still next to the thin bed in Carol's Place. _I need to get in, quickly and quietly, without being seen._ Mouse rifled through the bag and dug into a side pocket, and came out with a small wrist-mounted device. A Stealth Boy. Mouse didn't like the sensation of only seeing a shimmery disturbance when he looked down at himself, but they were definitely useful at times. _This should be easy, it'll be dark in there so no one will see me, and I can crack that safe and be out and gone from here._ He slipped it on his right wrist without activating it. _I just hope the door is quiet._

He walked back to the Ninth Circle through a darkened Underworld. There was no way to tell if it was night or day down here, but it looked like, Winthrop, he supposed, dimmed and brightened the lights to copy the normal day cycle. _That's kinda nice._ It was very quiet and empty feeling, the only noises were the whirr and whine of the old air exchangers and occasional mutters and footsteps as the few people still awake at this hour talked and moved around. He could hear his heart thudding loudly in his ears, and tried to calm himself. He approached the wooden double doors of the Ninth Circle. _The Ninth Circle._ Mouse had read tons of books from the vault's library on holo, and he'd gotten through a bit of Dante's Inferno. If he remembered correctly, the ninth circle of hell was for betrayers and treacherous people. He rolled his eyes, amused even through the low, rolling fear he was currently feeling. _Heh._

Mouse knelt down by the door and just listened for a minute. No sounds coming from inside. He pulled two bobby pins from his pocket and set one in the lock. He jiggled the other until he heard the pins in the lock catch, and rotated his first to turn the lock. Surprisingly easy. _I'd have thought a guy like Ahzrukhal would have this place locked down tight,_ he mused. He slowly opened the door, bracing himself for the loud squeak that would give him away. Nothing. The door was silent, and so was the dark bar. He glanced around inside. Completely empty. He examined the Stealth Boy on his wrist and used a fingernail to click the tiny orange button. The stealth field activated and his body shimmered out of sight. Mouse's stomach made a sick swooping motion. _Ugh._

_He relies on the bodyguard, Charon,_ the thought suddenly coming to him. _He's complacent about his locks because he can say the word and that huge pile of muscle is right there. Works for me, if he's not out here._ Uneasy, he made a sweep of the room again. Again nothing. The both of them were probably in a living area behind the bar. Mouse glided over the floor, past the tables and the bar. His heart pounded and his mouth had dried up. He swallowed with an uncomfortable click. There was the safe on the wall, and the fridge with some of the bar's menu items. Mouse carefully picked the lock on the safe, with the nearly the same ease as the door. It was a little harder because this time he couldn't see his fingers. _Okay, this is getting a little fishy, why is_ everything _so easy and open?_ He opened the safe door, and found next to nothing. A bottle of fancy-looking whiskey, a canister of jet, and a tiny pile of caps. Mouse stared, disappointed. _Man, this Stealth Boy was probably worth more than what's in here. And my caps aren't here... he probably took them back with him._ Annoyed, he went ahead grabbed what little was in the safe and stuffed the items into his pants pockets. He turned around to leave, defeated, when his eye fell on one of the many crates lining the shelves behind the bar. The other crates had bottles of alcohol in them, but this one closest to the fridge had... a toolbox. With a very sturdy-looking lock on it. _…Interesting._ By this time, Mouse had almost relinquished the idea of getting his money back, now he just wanted to do some damage to the asshole who'd betrayed his trust as a customer.

He dug the box out and, for the third time, picked the lock holding the lid closed. This one was considerably tougher than the door and the safe, and by the end Mouse was sweating and had snapped three picks. But the hasp finally clicked open, and he tugged the lock off. He opened the box and immediately spotted his worn bag that he kept his caps in. _Hah!_ He quietly snatched the bag out and placed it in his pocket along with the items from the safe. The other thing in the box was a revolver that looked like it was very well maintained. No bullets to go with it, but the gun itself was a nice find. _Looks like this was one of old Ahzrukhal's babies. And now it's mine, jerkoff._

The final item in the box was the strangest, and Mouse almost missed seeing it. It was a very old, yellowed piece of paper tucked into a corner of the box. It had been folded and unfolded many times, and was soft from the many handlings it'd had. Mouse took it out of the now empty box and examined it, wondering why it would be kept under lock. There had been writing on it at one time, but it had been worn away and smudged and nothing was legible anymore. There was obviously no apparent value, but since it was important enough to keep hidden and under lock, he re-folded it and placed it in his shirt pocket. Anything to piss the guy off. _What an asshole._

Now it was time to leave, his Stealth Boy was starting to heat up and he could see that a very faint warning light had turned on. He made for the end of the bar, and right as he made it to the edge, the Stealth Boy weirdness betrayed him again. He was in a hurry, and bumped his invisible foot right into the corner of the bar. It was just his damned luck that an empty bottle was right on the edge and the jolt had been enough to send it tumbling to the ground. It shattered. The piercing noise cracked through the sleepy silence of the room and Mouse let out a startled grunt. Then he heard his death sentence ring out from the back room.

"CHARON! KILL THE THIEVING BASTARD OUT THERE!"


	4. The Hunt

He fled immediately, adrenaline dumping into his veins and forcing his muscles to just _go_. Mouse jumped over the broken bottle and bolted for the door, stopping for nothing. The attack dog had been let loose and he didn't want to wait around to see what would happen if Charon caught him. _That guy's quick from a standstill, I hope he can't run as good..._ Mouse tore out of the bar and flew down the stairs, hopping them by threes. He made a bee line right for the big double doors at the entrance. His Stealth Boy started to spark and sputter and the field finally failed with a loud crackling. No help there. Underneath the litany of "oh shit oh shit oh shit" running through his mind he tried to make a quick plan. _I can get out and jump over the partition for the metro right outside. I could probably land without hurting myself too much and lose him in the station and stay there for a day if I have to. I can come back and get the rest of my stuff at Carol's and just get the hell out. This whole trip was way more damn trouble than it's worth._

Heart pounding and breath starting to get ragged he finally slammed through the museum door and emerged in the rotunda. He could hear heavy thudding footsteps pursuing him, very close now. _Crap. He_ is _a good runner._ He careened out the door and, because of his state of panic, bashed his head on an overhanging construction lamp. His vision flashed white and went spotty for a moment. Blood trickled down the side of his face and still fleeing he armed it away. Dizzy and unable to see exactly where he was going, he made it to a door and shoved it open, expecting the cool air of outside. With a shock, he realized it was the dark museum room he'd cleared out earlier. _Fuck!_ There was no time to go back, the ghoul chasing him was nearly on top of him. He slammed the door shut behind him and raced into the back area. The only thing he could do was hide, and hope the monstrous ghoul wouldn't find him. Some hope. This place had no exit. It was a dead end and he was sure Charon knew that as well.

It sounded like Charon had paused at the door for a moment, so Mouse had a quick second to scope out hiding places. There was practically nothing. He charged down a long hallway, and had his next piece of bad luck that night. His foot came down on a bear trap that hadn't been sprung on his way through earlier. He bit back a scream of pain and just plain frustration at the unfairness. It snapped shut on his ankle, but was blocked slightly by his thick leather boots. Nothing was broken, but it hurt like a bastard and it felt like his bones had been squashed together. He would definitely have a nasty bruise there tomorrow. If there was a tomorrow. _Fuck._ Frustrated, but by now, hardly surprised, Mouse grabbed the jaws of the trap and pulled them apart, straining his arms and gingerly limping out of the trap. Luckily it had been old and the spring was wearing out or he might have been stuck there. Regardless, his leg was out of commission. This was it, he couldn't run anymore. He dropped to all fours and crawled under a nearby table. _Stupid._ He heard quiet footsteps stalking up the hallway now, not even bothering to run. Knowing there was no way out of this place for his prey. Mouse's hair prickled and his skin crawled. Close to panic, he put a hand on his heart to try to calm the thumping. He heard a crinkle and touched his shirt pocket again. The paper. _This damn thing, I don't even know what it is._ Pulling it out, he dazedly looked at it in the dark, just a dim white square. He held it and listened again. A rasping voice floated out of the darkness:

"You can't hide from me."

_Spooky motherfucker. He knows he's got me and now he's playing with me. Fuck._ Mouse just stayed still and waited. Heart still racing, and adrenaline surging through his body, but there was nothing he could do. So he waited. Eyes straining, he watched as legs and feet materialized out of the darkness, followed by a shotgun swinging by a hand. The hand connected to the heavily muscled arm and torso, and finally the head and face. Pale blue eyes glittering in the dark. He looked like a goddamn harbinger of the apocalypse. Mouse just sat there, a feeling of sudden sleepiness washing over him. This was it. The end. The advancing specter lifted his shotgun in one hand and Mouse stared helplessly into the cavernous barrel pointed at his face.

"Got you."

Mouse tensed his whole body, waiting for the crash to ring out, and for him to be gone and dead. His fist crumpled the paper he was holding, and he squeezed his eyes shut.


	5. Reversal

It felt like an eternity, waiting there with his eyes shut. The shot he expected never came. _What's going on? Why-_

"What is that?" Charon's voice grated out. Mouse was wound up so tight he had no idea what the ghoul was asking him. _What was what?_

He stammered out "Wha.. what?" finally opening his eyes again. Charon had lowered the gun and was staring at his hand resting on the floor.

"That. The paper. What is it?"

He lifted his hand and held the thing out to Charon. "I don't know, I can't read it." He swallowed loudly in a parched throat. His arm felt like it was made of lead. "Here, take it back, I took it from your boss…" He trailed off and retracted his hand, seeing an incredibly odd transformation taking over Charon's face. He went from cold and calculating to looking smug and almost pleased.

"Good." He swung his shotgun around and hooked it on his back, then knelt and held a hand out to him. Mouse quickly held out the paper for him to take and was confused when the ghoul instead took his entire hand into the rough grip. Charon pulled him out from under the table and then upright to stand in front of him. He released Mouse's hand without taking the stolen item. Mouse stepped very lightly on his injured ankle, winced when it wouldn't support his weight, and instead opted to half-sit half-lean on the table he'd been hiding under. What was going on?

"What is this? Are you uh… still going to shoot me?"

Charon said nothing for a moment, a gleeful light dancing in his eyes. Paired with the stony face, it was a strange effect. "That... is my contract. I am bound to serve whoever holds it. Ahzrukhal sent me down here to eliminate you, but now you hold it, so I have no further obligation to him."

Mouse was yet again dumbfounded. _His contract?_ "Like a mercenary or something?"

"A slave." His words were even but there was clearly a dark look in his eyes, visible even in the gloom.

_A slave. Because of this piece of paper?_

"Here, then." Mouse held the paper out to Charon again. "I don't want to own anyone, take it."

Charon took a step back. "I can't."

"Why?" Mouse asked.

"That is just part of the contract. You're stuck with it now."

"What, you can read this?" he squinted at the paper again. _Yeah, good luck reading it here in the dark, genius._

"I know the terms without having to read them. You have to keep it. Unless you decide to transfer it to another." His tone of voice with the last statement seemed to suggest that he'd rather that not happen. Mouse raised an eyebrow and carefully placed the paper back in his pocket. So now this beast of a man was employed with him instead of trying to find and kill him. The knot of tension that had been resting in his stomach since the bottle had crashed to the floor and alerted Ahzrukhal to his presence suddenly dissolved. A dizzying wave of relief washed over him, and he felt as if he was going to burst into either tears or hysterical laughter. He instead croaked, "He'll be angry, huh. Ahzrukhal I mean."

Charon actually grunted and let out a derisive chuckle at that. "Yes. Not that it matters."

Emotions swinging wildly and still feeling bemused, Mouse held out his hand to Charon. "Well, since you're not going to kill me anymore, it's nice to meet you. I'm Mouse," he said with a laugh, shaky from relief.

Charon looked surprised, but he held out his own rough hand and clasped Mouse's. They shook. "Charon." Mouse smiled crookedly; he was exhausted, had just been running for his life, his ankle felt like a tiny animal with needle teeth was chewing into him, and he was in a strange place far from home. But he had found, if not a friend, an ally of some kind, and felt a surge of relief and peacefulness, down here in the dark.

He slung his arm around Charon's shoulder with a little difficulty when he offered, and they walked out of the dim hallway, back into the glow of the rotunda and back into Underworld.


	6. A Fond Farewell

They were both back at Carol's Place; Mouse sitting on his rented bed and Charon sitting cross-legged on the floor next to him and his now very swollen ankle. He had convinced Mouse to let him take a look at it, to make sure nothing was seriously wrong. The boot had deep jags crunched into the leather; the ankle had only minor jags crunched in it, thankfully. It had turned a lovely shade of reddish purple and had swelled to about twice the size it should be. Now that the adrenaline was gone, every twitch or slight movement Mouse made with his foot caused a sickening spike of pain to shoot into his stomach. He tried to keep as still as possible as Charon removed the boot and examined his skin. He had never been so close to a ghoul before, the top of Charon's head was right near his knee, and both forearms a little lower. Mouse could see where the skin fell away to exposed muscles and veins. He got a wild impulse to touch Charon's skin, extremely curious about what it felt like. He decided he'd rather keep his fingers unbroken and instead thought of something to stop the silence as he was undergoing the examination. "What does this contract mean? You said I'm stuck with it, do I have to do anything?"

"It means I am bound to do as you say, concerning combat and protection. You do not have to do anything."

He pulled a syringe of med-x from a pocket and a stimpak from another. He slid the med-x needle into the skin and injected a tiny bit of the drug in the places where the teeth had been. Charon had removed his gloves, and Mouse could now feel the feverish heat emanating from the ghoul's bare skin. It felt kind of good against his leg. Mouse watched, fascinated at the contrast of these gentle ministrations compared to the stalking predator Charon had been a few minutes ago.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

Charon smirked down at the ankle he was working on. "No."

He injected the full stimpak under the reddened area and chucked the empty tubes in the corner. He stood.

"I have to go... have a talk with my previous employer. Rest and we can leave tomorrow."

Mouse nodded and carefully pulled his leg up onto the bed. "Okay. Do you want me to rent you a room here? Have you slept?"

"I don't need to sleep."

_Oh. Okay._ "Well, alright. I'm just gonna… rest then." The med-x combined with the frantic running and terror of earlier had made him incredibly sleepy. He laid back and watched Charon turn to leave the room, apparently going back to the Ninth Circle. He hesitantly called, "Charon." He had a thousand questions to ask, but they could wait for later. "Thank you. For helping me," he said instead, smiling sleepily. Charon looked taken aback and a little embarrassed. It looked like he wasn't used to being thanked for anything. "You're... welcome." His deep voice tilted up at the end, almost turning it into a question. He opened the door and stepped out, and Mouse closed his eyes.

Sleep drifted over him, and he almost went under, starting to dream when he heard something quiet and muffled from far away. Not a very good sound. *bam!* *ch-cht* *bam!* He briefly wondered what on earth it was, but it was so quiet and unimportant sounding, and his body couldn't take being awake anymore. He slept.


	7. Leaving Underworld

Mouse woke and blearily looked at his surroundings. Pack at the foot of the bed, a thin sheet thrown over him, filmy dividers to block the rest of the room, and a massive ghoul leaning against the wall. _Oh, right._ He rolled towards him and squinted.

"Mornin', Charon."

Charon slightly inclined his head and waited as Mouse fully woke up. He stretched his arms, scratched his fingers through his hair, fluffing it out, and wiped his eyes. "Okay, moment of truth." He scooted to the edge of the bed and swung his legs over the side. He lowered his feet to the chilly marble floor and stood up, wavering a little. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other without any major difficulties. A smile broke over Mouse's face and he turned back to the ghoul. "Still hurts, but I can walk on it for sure. Guess I'm all set here. Nothing against you, but I think I've had enough of this crazy ass place for right now." He sat back down and pulled his pant leg up to examine his injured ankle. The skin was puffy and now really on its way to purplish-black, but the swelling had gone down and it just felt like a minor ache instead of like his ankle was filled with burning glass.

"Good." Charon shifted his weight forward and stood away from the wall, waiting. He glanced down at Mouse examining the injury. "That looks better."

Mouse probed the skin, pressing it in and watching it turn pale, then fade back to purple as he released it. "It does, thanks. You're good at this kind of stuff then, huh?"

Charon shrugged, "Yeah, sure. I practically have a medical doctorate by now." It was hard to read ghouls' facial expressions normally, and Charon was even worse. He seemed to almost always keep his face very blank. Mouse couldn't tell if he was serious or joking around. He squinted at the ghoul again, and Charon rolled his eyes. _Pfff._

"We're a match made in heaven, Charon. A guy who leaps into bear traps and a smartass who can cure bear trap wounds." Mouse pulled his socks on and grabbed his boots from under the bed, the left one with its set of teeth marks. Tossed his bag of caps back into his leather pack, and then realized he'd fallen asleep with the spent Stealth Boy wrapped around his wrist. He detached the clip that held the band together and grimaced at the constricted shiny feel of his skin. His pocket still had that mysterious contract in it. _I still don't really know what the deal with it is, but I guess I know enough._ He tucked it deeper. He took his pistol out of a pocket in the pack and placed it back at his side along with his knife. He slung his pack onto his shoulder and grabbed his prized possession that had been leaning against the wall. His sniper rifle.

Charon looked amused, "That gun's as big as you are."

"Maybe." He lifted the rifle and looked down the sight; socking the butt into his shoulder and feeling the comforting weight of the heavy stock rest against his hand. "Saved me some trouble quite a few times, though." He smirked. "And I look like a badass, huh?" he said, crouching and posing with the gun.

"You're very... strange."

"Whatever, Charon, I know you're impressed," he said with a sniff. He pulled the strap out on the rifle and hung it on his back. _Hmph, he's right, it is almost as big as me._ He turned back to face Charon. "Well, I'm ready. You have anywhere you want to go, out in the glorious wastes?"

Charon's eyebrows raised, "Me? ...What are _you_ doing out here?"

"Exploring, honestly." Mouse scratched his head and replaced his sunglasses. "Scavenging. I've been gone from home for a long time, though. We could head back and relax for a while. This is the furthest I've gone in one trip for a long time; I'm ready for something boring."

Charon shrugged again, "You're the boss."

"Right. Onward."

They left the confines of the small rented room, and Mouse stopped at the counter to tell Carol goodbye. She looked surprised that the hulking ghoul was following the human, but then she looked knowingly at Charon, and smiled. She said quietly, "I'm glad you got away from him, you deserve better. Take care."

Charon nodded and they exited the place. They made it to the staircase that lead down to the main hall and Mouse let out a shaky giggle, "I'm glad we're leaving together this time, instead of me running for my life and you hauling ass after me."

Charon grunted a laugh, "It was nothing personal. I had an order and was following it."

"You're scary sometimes, you know?"

"It's been said."

Once down the stairs, Mouse turned around to take a last look at Underworld. For now, at least. _Hey, is that..._ There was a rumpled lump resting on one of the benches along the wall. "Hang on a sec," Mouse rummaged through his pack and came out with the lone bottle of expensive whiskey he'd swiped from Ahzrukhal's decoy safe. He walked quietly over to the lump and wedged the bottle between Patches' chest and his curled arm. He squirmed and smiled in his sleep. Mouse returned to Charon with a sheepish smile, "I owed him a drink."

"He'll probably cry with joy and go get drunk on the roof again. What an idiot." Charon smirked.

They made their way out to the rotunda and back to the once-ornate museum doors. They were both tense and inwardly excited. Mouse back out into the danger of the wastes, and Charon finally feeling a bit of freedom again after so long being stuck in that hellhole of a bar.

They both pushed the doors open and walked into the blinding sunlight of downtown D.C.


	8. On the Road Again

The best way back to Megaton was through the museum metro station back to Anacostia Crossing near Rivet City, then just a straight shot above ground back home. They saw Willow patrolling further out near the sidewalk. She raised her hand to greet them, and then did a double take when she saw Charon. She jumped and waved more excitedly. They waved back and headed down the huge concrete entrance way into the metro.

"I came to Underworld this way, so there shouldn't be anything dangerous down here. There were a few raiders and roaches." He looked around in the dim light, feeling the cold air, and smelling the old machinery and damp stone in the air. They went deeper into the station, walking through the echoey platform area, and looked for the right track tunnel to take. The high ceiling yawned above them, Mouse liked the feeling it gave. Like the grand cathedrals he'd seen pictures of in the vault's library. This was going to be a long walk; the trains ran pretty far. He remembered something he had wondered about back when he first made it to Underworld.

"Hey Charon, how good is your eyesight?"

Charon was walking behind and to the right of him. If Mouse hadn't heard his quiet breathing and the occasional clink of his shotgun sliding across a buckle, he would've thought he was alone. "Fairly good. I can probably see better than you can, down here anyway."

"You can see in the dark?"

"Yes. Not perfectly, but well enough." They continued down the tunnel. It was amazing that all the lights hadn't burnt out since the war. Even more amazing that there was still some power running to them. Things had really been built to last. They picked their way past the occasional trains, some had derailed and crashed. Mouse kept quiet and thought to himself for a while. He eventually wondered aloud as they walked:

"Is it strange to you that you know nothing about me? I guess I'm your new 'employer' but we really skipped the whole interview phase. Do you ever join up with people without knowing who they are?"

Charon sounded surprised. "I don't get to pick who owns my contract, so, yes, it's common. The owners just want me for my combat skills, not conversation. They rarely explain themselves to me."

Mouse thought that over, wondering again at the mysterious contract. _Why did it exist at all?_ That could be saved for later, when they weren't such strangers. It seemed a bit personal.

They had come up on a train that had somehow crashed across the tunnel, completely blocking any way of moving around it. It was tilted back and had been wedged firmly into the wall and surrounding rubble. Mouse and Charon stopped and looked at it, trying to determine a way around. There was a space at the top. "Can we climb over? That's kinda tall... There was a slope on the other side; I didn't know the drop-off over here was this big." Mouse eyed the bottom edge of the train, where they'd have to get to in order to climb the rest of the way over. Charon stood under the edge and raised his arm up to touch it.

"Give me a boost, I can pull you up after me."

"Yeesh, I'll try. You look pretty damn heavy," he answered, eyeing Charon. He stooped and laced his hands together, bracing for the weight. Setting a hand lightly on Mouse's shoulder, Charon came closer and set his foot into the step.

"Okay... lift!" He bent his knee as Mouse hauled upwards and straightened out at the apex of the lift; he flattened his palms against the reachable edge of the train and straightened his arms to hoist himself up. Quickly arching his back, he swung his knee forward and got a boot on the edge, and pulled himself up. Mouse watched, fascinated. Charon had somehow balanced himself to feel nearly weightless when he kicked off.

"Okay, so you're a doctor and a gymnast too now, huh?" he peered up at Charon perching on the train edge.

Charon stood and suppressed a laugh, trying to look nonchalant and dusting imaginary dirt from the thighs of his armor.

"Uh huh, well, help me up then..." he stretched out a hand and glared at him with mock suspicion. Charon kneeled down and extended a hand downward. Mouse moved to take his hand, ready to start the clamber up, and Charon grabbed him around the wrist instead, completely lifting him off the ground. Charon stood and brought Mouse the rest of the way up, setting him down a few inches away. Mouse stared again, arm still held up. He was about a foot from the smirking monster and felt a shiver go up his back as Charon looked at him. He could feel the heat emanating from the ghoul's body, and could actually smell him now. Leather and sunny dirt, a very free, outdoor smell.

"Impressed?" he rumbled, smirking wider at Mouse's stunned look and flushed face. He released Mouse's wrist and in a quick movement turned to slide down the other side of the train car. _Pffffff._ "Fuckin' show off ghoul," he muttered, and slid down the train, face still burning from being so close to Charon. _Wait, why is my face burning?_ He let Charon walk ahead and mulled the thought over. _He's huge._ He looked ahead, his line of sight about even with the top of Charon's shoulder. _He's terrifyingly fast and apparently really damn strong._ He rubbed his wrist where Charon had grabbed him and lifted him like he weighed no more than an empty box. Charon's skin was torn and ragged, it gave his face a decidedly strange look. _But... alluring in a weird way. And his physique..._ He imagined again what running his hand over his skin would feel like, and what the rest of his body would loo-

Mouse collided with Charon's broad back and let out a startled hmph sound.

"Daydreaming back there?" Mouse could hear the amusement in his voice and scowled. They had stopped at a place where the track split off into three different directions. The tunnels led off into complete darkness, looking identical. Charon gestured forward. "Which way?"

"I... have no idea. So, it's time to bring out the big guns," he reached into his pack and dug all the way to the bottom, bringing out what looked like a thick metal sleeve with a monitor on one side.

Charon raised an eyebrow as his gaze fell on the object, "You're from a vault." Neither accusing nor questioning, just a statement. Mouse looked up.

"Yeah, I am. I've been out for about a year. As you've seen I still don't really know... not really how to take care of myself, I guess, just not how the world fully works out here. How _people_ work. It's very different." As he spoke, he clicked the startup button on the side, and waited for the gadget to warm up. The screen flickered to life, and he tuned it to the map program. He waited for the computer to find where he was located. "I don't wear it because I feel like it over-assists. I wanted to learn how to fend for myself without electronic help. Besides that, people get certain opinions about you if they see you wearing one."

Charon watched the glow of the screen in the dark, green lines slowly forming a general map of the stretch of tunnel they were in. "I thought those couldn't be removed?"

Mouse smiled and looked back over his shoulder at Charon. "I've heard that said too. Actually, it's only half true. Each PipBoy is tuned to a specific person and _they're_ the only one who can remove it. Without, y'know, also removing the arm." His smile faded at the gruesome thought, and he returned his attention to the screen.

The pathing system was ready, and it directed them toward the rightmost tunnel. "I only use it for the radio and holodisk player or when I'm really lost or really in trouble, and I'd say this is a decent example of being lost." He re-checked the map and nodded. "It says we go through that one, and we'll end up at the Anacostia Crossing station. It's above ground from there, no problem."

Charon nodded, looking inscrutable. _When does he not._ They set off for the correct tunnel and Mouse continued speaking, "The compass was the only thing I really can't do without sometimes, so I popped it off and keep it in my pocket. And the Geiger counter on it functions even when the PipBoy is off. So keeping it in my pack seemed like a better idea." They had approached the start of where the light had gone, and the darkness became like a solid wall. "A bad thing, though, is that the light on it is busted. So this isn't going to be fun." Mouse was only able to see a vague outline of Charon standing in front of him by squinting and looking slightly to his side. Charon glanced at Mouse and then back to the tunnel ahead.

"The ground is really broken up in there, it might be better if I carried you."

_Wha?_ "Carried?"

Charon explained, "I can see the ground fairly well, and your ankle isn't fully healed. So. It might be better if I carried you."

Mouse shifted on his feet, he was okay for walking, but if a foot fell through the cracked concrete and got stuck, or he stumbled... it would probably be very bad. _Fine._

"You're right. I feel bad, but alright. How do you want me?"

In the dark he could hear Charon exhale sharply. _Oh. Bad word choice, hell._ His cheeks burned in the dark again and he sighed quietly.

Voice straining against laughter, "Piggy back is best, I'll carry my gun."

Charon had crouched a little and Mouse carefully hopped onto his back, arms wrapped around his neck, and knees pressed into his sides. "Sorry if this is weird," he muttered. Their faces were close together and Charon hrmphed back at him. As Charon walked, Mouse could feel the muscles beneath him shift and roll. He felt a mixture of gratitude and awkwardness as they moved through the inky blackness. It would probably be a while before they hit the other station.

"I dunno if you mind me talking so much, you seem like a quiet person."

The shoulders under him rose and fell in a shrug. "I don't. It's been a long time since I've had reason to speak, is all." His voice deepened and Mouse heard a tinge of a growl, deadened in the small tunnel, "Ahzrukhal commanded me to keep silent, for the most part. After so many years, I've fallen out of practice." In the dark, deprived of his sight, Mouse picked up on a faint accent from Charon. He spoke in a slightly stilted way, enunciating each word a little more carefully than the average person Mouse had spoken with.

The corridor was still pitch black, and a damp breeze blew through it, carrying the smell of old oil and ozone from all the fizzled out power nodes. Charon meandered back and forth, picking out the best path, occasionally making short leaps across narrow chasms in the ground. Mouse had given up trying to figure out where they were and just rested his chin on Charon's shoulder, waiting for his sight to come back or for something to happen. Charon started the conversation this time, surprising Mouse.

"You're from a vault, so Mouse probably isn't your given name, hm."

Mouse gave a startled laugh, "You got me. No, Mouse is a nickname my stupid friend gave me a long time ago. We were learning about pre-war animals for a week in class when we were little. I got obsessed with mice, thought they were cute, and drew pictures of them in my notebook. A friend of mine, I guess, he was also kind of a huge jerk, stole my notebook and started calling me Mouse Boy all the time. It just stuck after a while; guess it could've been worse. So now that's who I am to everyone. I came out here and kept it, stuck in the habit."

"What's your real name?"

Mouse smiled in the dark. "It's Lee. No one's called me that in a long time."

"Lee." Charon rasped thoughtfully.

"Yep." It was silent again for a long time; the only sounds the clocking of Charon's boots on the stone, and water quietly dripping in the dark. It felt like they'd been walking for forever.

"I like Lee better."

"Yeah?" Mouse thought Charon had already forgotten about it. "You can call me that, if you'd rather. It'd be a nice change."

They fell into another silence, comfortably. Lee, _what a funny feeling, to be called by my name after so long,_ had nearly dozed off. The sounds of the walk were soothing, and the nearly feverish heat from Charon had made him pleasantly warm. He sleepily asked, "Why is your skin so warm?"

"Hmm? Oh. Compared to a human, I guess it is. You'd have to ask Doc Barrows back in Underworld for the scientific answer." He shrugged again, "Something to do with how fast ghouls' cells regenerate. They die off quickly, but are replaced at a higher rate as well." He shifted his neck around, stretching the vertebrae. "I think that has something to do with how long we live, too."

Another ten minutes went by with no event. The darkness was completely uniform to Lee, and he had given up straining his eyes for anything visible. He closed his eyes and re-opened them periodically to check. After a time, he suddenly realized that he could see dim grey forms in the dark.

"Hey, I can see again, we must be close to the end."

"Good."

They continued on a bit, and Charon set Lee down on the ground when it was a bit brighter. He stretched his legs and his arms, which had gone slightly numb from holding his position for so long. "Thanks for the, uh, lift." He was already sort of missing the contact.

"Sure. No need to break your bones so soon." Charon squatted and straightened out, flexing his legs.

"Right, this should be Anacostia Crossing station, out that maintenance door up there," he pointed to the left of the enormous tunnel shutter. "We can stop in Rivet City for a day and recharge."

They reached the door and went through, ready for a rest.


	9. Rivet City

It was late afternoon as they emerged from the station. They had been traveling for most of the day and the sun would set soon. The station gate rattled a little on its tracks as Lee pushed it aside and they stepped out. The broken escalator stretched up and out in front of them. They trudged up the now-still steps and almost made it to street level when Lee froze. He put a hand out to stop Charon.

Out of the corner of his eye he had noticed a group of three people standing at the far side of the courtyard for the metro. He slowly turned and examined them more closely. They were dressed in black plated armor and were carrying some serious firepower. _Talon Company, great._ Luckily, all three were facing away from the metro, toward the building that rose up on the other side, taking a smoke break.

Lee slowly backed up and gestured with his hand for Charon to follow, so their heads were hidden again by the concrete sleeve of the metro access. In a whisper he said, "Those guys have been tracking me everywhere. I haven't got a clue how they keep finding me, but they're good at it. I can usually avoid them, but they're right in our way, so I think we've got to deal with them." Lee swallowed hard. "They're tough, but with your help it'll be much easier." He unslung his rifle from his back and checked it to make sure everything was set. "I'll take out one of them from cover, and then you start shooting." Charon nodded and they eased back up the stairs.

They were still facing away, and Lee lined up a shot, resting the barrel on the edge of the stairwell. _Do this fast before they notice they're being watched._ They were close enough for the image in the scope to be enormous, but everything was still identifiable. He focused on the leftmost guy with a plasma rifle, settling his neck into the crosshairs. Lee drew in a breath and squeezed the trigger.

The guy's neck was severed by the huge slug, and his body swayed drunkenly, then slumped and fell over. Before his two friends even had time to register what was going on, Charon had vaulted over the edge and let out a roar, firing his shotgun at the man in the middle who was turning around sluggishly with wide surprised eyes. His head and most of his upper torso vanished in a thick red mist. The third merc had a bit faster reflexes than his companion; he had drawn a ripper from his belt and was charging right at Lee, who looked like the smaller and less threatening of the two. _Should've just run for it._ Mouse reversed his rifle and slammed the butt of the stock right into the man's frantic face as he came within range. Lee heard his nose shatter with a dull crunch, and felt the vibration of it through the body of his gun. The merc staggered back, a hand holding his spouting nose, right into Charon's vicinity. Charon grasped the man's head on either side, and twisted viciously. The snap echoed around the courtyard, and the man fell to the ground.

The two survivors looked at each other across the station and put their weapons away, adrenaline fading. Lee walked around the edge of the stairs and up to the three corpses.

"Not bad," Charon growled. He stood back, watching Lee and wiping flecks of blood off his forearms.

Lee chuckled as he rummaged through one of the mercs' pockets, taking his caps and picking up the plasma gun from where it had fallen. "Stick with me and one day you may become as badass as I am," he intoned. Inwardly he felt very pleased, nearly embarrassed. _Praise from Charon was something._ He couldn't see it, but Charon was rolling his eyes again at his bravado.

"Well, thanks for the free dinner, guys," Lee said, speaking to the dead body below him. Straightening back up he looked to Charon. "Let's head over to Rivet City. It's late and I dunno about you, but I could eat a whole pack of molerats right now." Charon nodded.

They trudged up the access ramp to Rivet City, the rusty scaffolding creaking in the wind as they ascended. They stopped at the top and took in the sight of the enormous aircraft carrier. Fog had come in from the nearby Tidal Basin and obscured the lower third of the boat. Lights twinkled through the eroded and patched side, and guards patrolled the entrance. A low creaking and groaning rolled over the water intermittently. Harkness hailed them from the other side of the huge chasm separating the ship and the two wanderers. After thumbing the button on the intercom and Lee explaining it was just him again, the long bridge was ponderously extended for them.

They gorged themselves on an enormous meal in the marketplace, too hungry to do anything but sit and stuff their faces. Lee was comfortable here, it felt like this was another version of home. Surrounded by steel and sealed doors, a close-knit community where everyone knew each other, safety from the dangers that were out there... yeah it was like home. It wasn't really dark yet, but Lee had long given up on trying to keep with sleep-when-it's-dark and wake-when-it's-light; it just wasn't worth the headache. They rented a room at Vera's hotel on the upper deck. It was nice; very clean, off the main hall so it was quiet, and there was a double bed.

"I know you've got to be tired, Charon. None of that 'I don't need sleep'."

Charon looked around the room and inspected the door. Grudgingly he said, "Looks safe enough. If it makes you feel better, I will sleep."

"Good. Cuz I'm beat." Feeling a little self-conscious but trying to ignore it, he started undressing. He sat down on the far side of the bed and unlaced his boots, noticing the considerable build-up of dust that had settled into the grooves. _Bleah._ Socks off, toes wiggling around. The cold metal floor felt good against the soles of his feet. He took off his backpack and emptied the contents of his pockets into it... knife, bag of caps, the contract. He eyed it again. _That little piece of paper... caused all this._ He carefully zipped it into a pocket in the pack. His guns went in the corner, a splash of gore still on the end of his rifle. Charon had been fairly quiet this whole time, what wa-

He glanced over his shoulder to see what the ghoul was up to, and tried to keep his jaw from dropping. Charon was facing away and in the middle of stretching his arms behind his head. He had completely removed his armor and set aside the ever-present shotgun, and was now dressed in a form-fitting black shirt and a loose pair of dark cotton pants. With his armor on, he looked bulky and powerful, with his armor off... he looked like a sculpture. A broad, toned back led down to a slim waist. His neck, shoulders, and upper and forearms were corded with thick muscle, and it didn't help that he was mid flex at the moment. He completed his stretch and drew off his shirt in a smooth motion. Lee hitched in a breath. _Fucking hell, he looks like a god._ His skin was more intact on his back, with only small patches of actual muscle tissue showing. He quickly snapped his head back and pretended to be checking his bag again. _Bah, I know he knows I keep staring…_

The bed sank in behind him; Charon had sat on the other side. There were two sheets on the bed; Charon took his and curled up on his side. He could hear Lee's uneven breathing and smirked into his pillow. "Do I bother you?"

_Gah, fuck._ His mind raced and his skin prickled. After a suspiciously long time he finally mumbled, "No." Charon snorted softly and stretched out his legs. The bed was barely long enough for him. Lee finished screwing around with his bag, and took off his sun-faded shirt and brown chinos, stripped down to his shorts. He grabbed his own blanket and turned off the light in the room. He lay down, careful not to bump into Charon. He sank into the soft pillow and bed, tense as hell, but feeling his body slowly relax into the mattress anyway. _Why. Why am I attracted to a smartass who thinks it's hilarious when I'm embarrassed_ he thought, exasperated. He could feel Charon's upper body moving in tiny measured jolts. _Is he laughing at me again?_ Lee cocked an elbow back and poked Charon with it, "Night, you fuckin' show-off ghoul." Charon huffed a laugh back at him.

"Goodnight, smoothskin."


	10. A Leap of Faith

Lee woke in the dark. He stared at where the ceiling would be, watching the swirls and blobs of pitch black jerk and expand across his vision. He moved a hand out and touched Charon's back. _Hmmm, yes everyone's still here._ He closed his eyes again. A quiet growl in the dark:

"Awake?"

"Yeah."

The bed lurched a little as Charon rolled over onto his back to lie side by side Lee, arms behind his head. Lee felt a tingle run across his skin. _Need to stop reacting every time he's close to me..._ They lay in silence for a few minutes. Lee was starting to fall back asleep in the warm darkness, until the bed moved again. Charon had rolled over and was now suspended over him, arms propping him up. Lee drew in a breath; now wide awake, but still unable to see anything. He could feel the bed sink in on either side of his head, and feel the presence of a body obstructing the space in front of him. His eyes stared at where he thought Charon's face was.

"Charon...?" his voice had lost its strength.

The voice that replied was closer than he thought. In a deep rumble, "Hm…?" His breath brushed against Lee's skin, making him shiver. Another slight movement and the presence dropped even further, now right beside his face. Lee's whole body tensed at the sensation of the soft breath against his ear and the vibration from the low voice. "You know..." an almost imperceptible chuckle, "out here, if you want something, you have to take it." After a long moment, the presence withdrew and Charon plopped back to sit on the edge of the bed. Rustling in the dark, probably picking up his clothes.

Lee resumed breathing, unaware he had stopped. _Take what I want, right._ Snatches of images flashed through his head as his heart rate got back under control. Running his hands over Charon's torn chest, lips locked together, digging his nails into soft skin... He blinked and ran his tongue over dry lips. Shoving the thoughts away for now, he rolled off the bed onto the floor and grabbed his watch to see what time it was. The radium hands glowed faintly in the dark... a little before 5AM.

"Hey, Charon... let's head up to the flight deck for a little bit. Leave your stuff, just throw on a shirt."

Mild surprise, "Alright."

They dressed in their shirts and pants in the dark, and Charon opened the hatch-style door. The ship felt like it was still asleep. The hallway was silent and dim, small lights glowing at intervals along the wall to illuminate the place. The old hull of the ship creaked and warm air from outside blew in through ventilation fans. They padded quietly through the maze-like halls, bare feet cold on the ground. Up to the stairwell, up through the guard area, up and up, and out to the topmost balcony of the bridge tower.

The deck below was a massive flat area, a huge group of ancient fighter jets standing in rows along the edge. Beyond that was a very high drop-off to the water below. The sky was grey, but brightening in the east, turning silver and shot with pink. Lee nudged Charon and nodded to a rung ladder attached to the side of the tower. It led up to the highest point on the ship.

At the top, Lee walked to the edge facing east and sat, legs dangling off. He looked back at Charon and patted the rusted steel beside him. Charon sat with a grunt, stretching his long legs out in front of him then letting them swing back. The two looked at the horizon past the skeletal remains of the buildings of the city. Shimmery and foggy with distance and whatever gunk was still lingering in the atmosphere, the sun started to rise above the edge of the world. The clouds in the sky turned from grey to purple to orange and yellow, streaking the sky with color. The sun looked like a molten coin, ponderously rising up and burning everything around it. There was a blazing corona surrounding it, and everything was reflected in the water far below them. The entire wasteland was awash in golden light, metal and broken glass sparkling and shining. The sun continued rising, magnificence fading into the more normal pale blue sky.

Lee smiled. "That never gets old." He kicked his legs out and swung them back and forth lazily, watching the clouds melt and change shape as the sun rose higher and the wind picked up. "And besides maybe the Washington Monument, this is the best place to see it. For nineteen years I'd never seen a sunrise or a sunset. I saw them in pictures only, never experienced one. Coming out here and just having a sky was strange enough, but this..." he trailed off. "It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

"I lived in a dark cave my whole life, and out here there are so many incredible things." He swept a hand across the view. "It's not perfect. The land and water are poison, people are killing each other, there's a treasure trove of old world trinkets that could erase everything from existence. But it's beautiful. To live, to be one of the few people left that survived."

He stopped and leaned back, laughing as he realized he was rambling. "Sorry," he apologized, but maybe it was alright. _He's good, isn't he? We get along._ He glanced over at Charon, taking in the solemn face and the broody set of his shoulders. "I don't know how long you're gonna stick around with me, but I'm glad you're here."

Charon was still gazing across the water. He was thinking of his years and years of servitude at the hands of Ahzrukhal. And others. Countless others who only looked out for their own gain, and didn't care how much misery they inflicted on others, as long as they got what they wanted. Much of his life had been spent with that kind of person, and his outlook on life had been dragged down by them. Countless days had blended together in a blur. Obeying orders, killing people who may or may not have deserved it, and feeling furiously helpless that someone had erased what he knew of his past and given him this compulsion. To not be able to say no to whoever owned his contract. That piece of paper was his leash. It still existed, but this wiry kid seemed different. He hadn't exercised his power at all. And it was painfully obvious he was attracted to the ghoul, but was too shy to do anything about it. Which Charon thought was hilarious, and flattering. How long since anyone had looked at him as something other than a weapon to be aimed and fired?

He felt nearly free, for the first time in decades. Still looking at the water he rumbled, "I understand what you mean. And I'm here as long as you want me."

Lee smiled sunnily and stood up, holding a hand out to Charon. Puzzled, he took it and let himself be pulled up. Seemingly out of nowhere, Lee asked, "Do you know how to swim?"

"Swim? ...Yes."

Already starting to climb down the ladder again, Lee beckoned to Charon and disappeared down the side of the bridge tower. He followed and they made it down to the main flight deck, the metal flooring already hot and glaring from the sun. Lee pointed at the corner of the deck that faced the halfway mark between the metro and the Jefferson Memorial. "Dare ya to run and jump off with me. Every time I come here I tell myself I'm gonna do it then I chicken out. Think a bath would be good for us anyway."

Charon laughed and shrugged. He pulled himself into the classic sprinter's position as an answer. Face serious now and mimicking Charon's pose, Lee counted, "Okay, one, two, three... GO!" They both surged forward, legs pumping, feet flying over the steel floor. It was about fifty feet to the edge and they both tried to pull ahead of the other. The race was even in the end, and they leapt off the edge into the warm air in synch. Lee let out a loud "Wooooooo!" as he fell through the air; vaguely hoping poor Harkness wasn't watching and having a heart attack. They fell down past the side of the ship and crashed into the cool water below. Sinking under, and letting buoyancy carry them back to the surface.

They wiped the water from their eyes and treaded the water. Lee caught a glimpse of a helmeted head peeking over the rail at the far away boat entrance, probably trying to find the source of the commotion. He waved and it retreated, appearing to shake from side to side.

"Hhhhaaaaaaa… that was pretty fun. Definitely worth smelling like a river for a few days." He floated away toward the shallows on his back for a moment, and then glanced over at the ghoul who was still just waiting and treading water, looking bored. Lee curved his hand and playfully scooped a small sheet of water at Charon. He was rewarded with a scary look from Charon, who then sank under the murky water and vanished. Lee looked around nervously, scanning the water. A moment later there was a hard yank on his right leg. Lee hollered and thrashed around, but got pulled under after a brief struggle. He felt strong hands grab him around the waist and then he was hauled up and tossed back toward the ship. He yelled as he flew through the air and landed with a huge splash. When he surfaced again, Charon was copying him from earlier, floating serenely on his back with his eyes closed. Shouting from relative safety:

"Okay I get it! Don't mess with the big scary ghoul!"

Still drifting, Charon opened an eye and winked at Lee, then rolled over and swam for shore. Slogging up the small incline, Charon's wet clothes clung to his body, and Lee stealthily ogled him from the river. After a while of swimming back and forth and enjoying the water, he followed Charon up to the base of a huge statue by the water, where the ghoul had stretched out in the sun. Lee flopped down next to him and leaned against the plinth.

"Too bad the closest thing Megaton has to this is a half-foot deep irradiated pool with a bomb in it."

Charon wiggled his toes and leaned his foot against his knee. "Yeah, can't have everything."

They relaxed in the sun until their clothes had dried, watching people coming and going and then headed back up to the bridge. The guard on duty gave them a funny look and seemed to want to ask what they'd been doing sleeping on the riverbank for the past hour.

They collected all the gear from the hotel room, said 'bye to Vera and Harkness, and headed out again. As they walked, Lee turned over in his head what Charon had said to him that morning... _if you want something, you have to take it._


	11. Trouble From Above

Before they left, Lee had grabbed his PipBoy and plotted out a route home. It would probably be two days walk unless they ran into something horrible. Which was completely possible. They had to head north, and cross the huge Potomac River at some point. Jumping in the shallows on a warm day in a T-shirt was one thing, trying to swim across the entire span in one go with all your equipment was another. There were, thankfully, still a few intact bridges along the way, though they had their own perils. People seemed to like booby-trapping them or using them as hideouts.

The road wound past a long row of ruined buildings; what used to be stores and businesses. Lee was holding his rifle propped over his shoulder, occasionally looking through the scope at anything that looked like a potential threat or just anything interesting. He spotted what looked like a weird hive of twisted metal, and then the hulking yellow-skinned mutants pacing around it. _Yikes._ "Let's... walk over here," he angled away from the ruins and back toward the riverbank. Charon glanced curiously at what he was trying to avoid.

"Not the bloodthirsty type, huh."

Lee squelched through the riverbank mud. "No, I guess not. If I can stay away from trouble, might as well. It's healthier in the long run." They ascended the Jefferson Memorial's metal walkway and headed for the far side. He glanced at the entrance door and was thankful no one was outside to recognize him and call him over. _Leave this place in peace for now, bet he and Dr. Li are really busy with their science crap._ "Besides, ammo and repairs for this thing get expensive," he said, tapping his gun. "It's a lovely thing but not a cheap date."

Lee looked across the water and saw the squat shape of the Brotherhood of Steel's headquarters. _Bunch of stuck-up tin cans._ The Brotherhood members he'd met had been dismissive and arrogant, especially that Sarah girl and her squad. His jaw tightened at the memory of _that_ stupid situation.

The walkway led to a small access bridge, and then continued on to the road again. They rounded a corner and saw a long straight path right along the water. Yet more buildings and rubble lined the sidewalk... and there was the bridge they needed. Lee looked through his scope down the long path and saw nothing important. He swung it to face the bridge. Nothing there. He focused on the far side. There. Raiders using the bridge supports as a shelter. _Well, we'll have to pass there eventually._ He paused and crouched down, lining up a shot on the raider nearest the river. _One less to deal with when we get there..._ The report echoed over the water, and Charon turned back with a questioning look on his face.

"Some raiders. We gotta use their bridge in a second."

They kept going, up to the base of the bridge, then doubling back to get to the road that led up to it. There was a metro further down, and a long empty street. It was kind of eerie. Lee looked back as they walked, feeling like something was going to run out and charge them, or like he'd see a face poke up out of one of the shattered windows. But there was nothing, just stone and rubble. Their footsteps echoed back from the far end, sounding ghostly.

They walked up the sloping road, and then Lee heard something that made his hair stand on end. An ugly muddy voice rising in a shout behind him:

"Yaaaaah! Human! Now try and hide from this!"

_Shit. There_ was _something there, above us._ He turned around as the shout began and saw a mutant with a hunting rifle and an even bigger one with a missile launcher standing on an overpass connecting two buildings. His heart leapt at the sight, and a wave of coldness ran over his body. _There's no way we can get out of this._ The brute took aim and fired, the missile heading right for him. He dodged as best he could, and avoided being directly struck by it, but it crashed into the bridge divider right behind him and exploded. The sound was deafening and the entire world momentarily turned a blinding white. He yelled out, weakly calling out to Charon, who had been walking behind him. In a delirious thought he prayed to the god of big guns, _make that missile launcher jam, don't let him get off a shot at Charon._ He felt the blast of warmth from the explosion, then pain, and then he crumpled to the ground as his vision blacked out.

...

...

...


	12. While You Were Out

...

...

...

Lee groggily awoke to the wavery sight of a high ceiling made of brick. Everything looked too bright and black spots and whirls erupted across his field of vision. _Ugh._ He gave up and shut his eyes again; the darkness was better. His head thumped and pounded and felt like it was a few sizes too big. He was lying still, but felt as if his body was detached from his head and everything was being forcefully jerked around. _I'm on a couch... where. Why does it sound like water..._ The memory of what happened suddenly slammed into him and he wrenched in a loud breath. His eyes shot open despite the discomfort. _The mutant with the missile launcher! Charon!_ He struggled to sit up and was rewarded with a horrendous surge of dizziness and nausea.

"Hey! Easy," a familiar voice grated.

Lee's head swung toward the voice, eyes squinted almost shut. "Charon... you're okay," he said with relief. The ghoul had been sitting on a step stool a few feet away cleaning his gun. His armor looked singed on one side, and there were blood-soaked bandages wrapped around his arm. He got up and walked over to Lee, sitting on the ground next to the couch so they were on eye-level with each other.

Lee relaxed and lay back, stretching a hand out to Charon. Wanting to feel some reassurance that both of them were fine. His hand was engulfed by Charon's larger one, and they sat there together for a while.

After a time, Lee opened his eyes and rolled his head to face Charon. "My face really hurts, how bad is it?" he asked, wrinkling his forehead and squinching his eyes, testing the restrictive feel of scratches on his skin.

Charon looked solemn. "Well, you were ugly before, I dunno what you're gonna do now."

Lee burst out laughing, before wincing and trying to relax his face again. "Ahaa.. ..ow. Fuck you, Charon," still smiling a little. "What happened after I got knocked out? I yelled... something at you and then… nothing." His eyebrows drew together in an annoyed expression. "Can't even take a missile to the face."

Charon hmphed at him, "You just want to take it easy and make me carry you everywhere. I see what's going on."

Lee rolled his eyes weakly, hating the sore rubbery feel of his eye sockets. "Go on, tell me what happened. How'd you get away? And how long have I been out?"

Charon began speaking and Lee closed his eyes and listened to the gravelly sound of his voice.

The mutant had shouted and fired the missile launcher, missing Lee, but hitting a short wall of concrete right next to him. The thing had shattered, sending sharp bits of rock flying along with the shards of metal from the spent case. Lee had been engulfed in a cloud of stone dust, shrapnel, and a bloom of fire and smoke, and then crashed to the ground. Charon had charged up after him immediately, drawing his shotgun off his back and pointing it backwards at the overpass. _Get him. Get out of here._ He couldn't tell if Lee was alive or dead just from looking at him, it had been a horrific blast.

He glanced back to quickly assess what they were up against. A rifle-toting mutant and the one with the missile launcher. They had a good position up there. _Good thing it's one shot per reload or this would be it._ He aimed right at the launcher mutant, who was busy chambering a new missile into his weapon. _This isn't going to do much so far away, but it might slow him down,_ he thought, and fired, still sprinting for the crumpled body lying on the ramp. He re-holstered his gun and felt a tiny bit of grim satisfaction when he heard the mutant scream; he was probably going to spend the next week picking buckshot out of his skin.

He stooped and grabbed Lee around the waist, hauling him up and flopping him over his shoulder. The rifle mutant had been firing the entire time, and was apparently a terrible shot. But he got lucky once; Charon felt a hot sting sink itself into the back of his arm. Charon barked out a grunt of pain, and jogged up the ramp, trying not to jolt Lee too much. He heard the _fssshhh_ noise of another missile being fired, and ran even harder. It exploded into the road behind him, and he felt the expansion of air push him forward, and the heat of the reaction toasted the leg and back of his armor. Still running, he made it around the corner of a billboard and to relative safety. _No line of sight, if they stay there. They might come look for us though, keep moving._

Charon continued along the bridge, and stopped about half-way, crouching behind a burnt-out car to examine the damage. He shifted Lee forward, and set him down, back propped against the car door. His usually sharp features were now slack and softened, and he had several gashes on his face. His head was a mess of blood, but that could be deceiving, if the head got cut it bled a lot. Charon held two fingers under the shelf of Lee's jaw, feeling for a pulse. _Slow, but he's alive._ Unaware he had been so worried; the magnitude of the relief that swept through him was a little surprising. He brushed Lee's hair out of his face and tilted his head back. The eyes were rolled back; small crescents of the whites could be seen. _Yeah, he's out for a while._ Charon picked him up again, grimacing at the feel of the bullet still lodged in his arm. _Can't do anything about that now._

He headed down the broken end of the bridge and cleared out the raiders that remained there. They were skinny, mongrel-looking people; drugged-out and wild. Three shots and they were all taken care of. This side of the bridge had a sort of shelter built into it; the raiders had been using it as a place to live. Bunk beds, a radio, trunks of stuff. He laid Lee on a not-quite-filthy couch and unceremoniously dumped the raiders' bodies outside.

He looked through Lee's pack and grabbed some water, alcohol, and an old scrap of T-shirt and cleaned up the vaultie's wounds as best he could. Most of the damage was superficial; light scratches, abrasions, and weak burns. There was one deep scratch across his cheek that came dangerously close to his eye, and a section of his hair had been burnt short. He might have a concussion too, Charon thought. As he finished wiping a cut that was still oozing blood, Lee groaned and moved his hands weakly. He was trying to push himself up and talk, but it was pretty clear he was still mostly unconscious. His whole body was shaking, and as Charon moved to push him back down he felt that his skin was startlingly cold and clammy. Lee wasn't putting up much of a fight, but he was still trying to either get up or crawl away across the floor. Charon frowned. _Well, one way to fix both of these._

He grabbed a pack of bandages for himself and the rest of the alcohol and water and sat carefully on Lee's abdomen so he couldn't scuttle away. _This is ridiculous._ Charon awkwardly poured the alcohol on the back of his left arm, rinsed it with water, and wrapped the strips of cloth tightly around it. _Hurts like a bitch but good enough for now_. He glanced out around the bridge area. Nothing there. Lee was still wriggling intermittently and making sad whimpering noises, like he was having a nightmare. Charon stood up, releasing him, this time letting him partially stand up _. Is he a sleep walker or something? I've never seen this kind of reaction to getting a concussion._ Before he could walk away, Charon set his shotgun on the ground and wrapped his arms around Lee and backed them both up into the couch. He lay down on his back, leaving Lee propped up on his chest. _No blankets, but body heat should be good enough... and now he can't move._ He grabbed a pillow and put it behind his neck, and waited. Lee eventually stopped trying to get away, and his shivering subsided. His body finally relaxed and he began to draw the deep, slow breaths of sleep. Charon stared at the ceiling, his hands resting on Lee's shoulders, arms crossed over his chest. They rested there for the remainder of the day and the night.

"And now you're awake."

During the story, Lee had managed to sit up and his head was feeling a little better. His vision was mostly back to normal, and he'd drunk a bottle of water while Charon was talking. "So you blasted some muties in the face, picked me up as dead weight, ran across a bridge with a bullet in your arm, killed three raiders with a person slung over your shoulder, cleaned up my face, and held me back when I got all weird?"

Charon nodded.

"Maaaan." Lee leaned back and puffed air through his cheeks. "You're a tank, that's amazing." Charon looked embarrassed again; he rested his chin in his hand and looked at the wall. Lee reached out and touched his shoulder. "Thank you. You put yourself at risk to save me, thanks," he smiled wearily. Charon shrugged and nodded. His contract required it of him, but he felt that he would have done it anyway. Lee was alright.

"...And you have a bullet in your arm, so let's take care of that." He straightened up and shook his hair back. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

Charon considered for a moment, "I cleaned the wound; you just need something to pull the slug out. A pair of tweezers or forceps would be ideal, but your knife would work. It shouldn't be deep, it went through my armor first." He started undoing his buckles, and removed the top of the armor. He peeled his shirt off and waited as Lee rooted around in his pack.

"Swear I pick up the most random pieces of junk. Your lucky day, Charon." He held up a slim metal instrument and sat back down on the couch. "Alright..." he trailed away as he saw the expanse of Charon's bare skin again. _Hmph._ "...Let's do this while it's still light out." Charon sat in front of him on the ground and rolled his shoulder forward, bringing his elbow back and resting the huge arm on Lee's knee to bring the entry point up at a good angle.

"Sorry if this hurts."

"Oh, it's gonna hurt." Charon took a big gulp of the vodka he'd been using as an antiseptic, and handed it back to Lee. "Rinse off the tweezers with that, and then go ahead. Bandage the arm up when it's out and we're done."


	13. Contact

Lee's fantasy of getting to touch and examine Charon's skin was kind of dampened by the fact that he was expected to perform a dang excision, right here, right now. _Oh well._ His dad had been a damn good doctor, but Lee had never really picked up on any of his more medical skills. _Shouldn't be too hard though, I have steady enough hands. And he's right, it's not in there too far._ He inspected the ragged hole. _Should be perfectly... freaking disastrous._ He drew in a breath and eased the tips of the tweezers into the wound. The slug was a twisted and partially flattened chunk of metal. The bullet was flush with the meat of Charon's arm; he would have to stretch the sides apart to get the tweezers around the actual thing. He pressed closer and the jaws of the tweezers made a soft *clink* against the slug. He eased up on his grip and the jaws widened, pressing into the oozing muscle tissue. _Fuck. This is horrible._ Charon sensed his tenseness.

"Relax. Not a big deal." he growled, glancing back.

_What, not a big deal, it's only a bullet lodged in your freaking ARM._ Lee just nodded and tried to relax his body a little. He eased the tweezers down past the sides of the bullet, and applied a tiny bit of pressure. The blood was slippery, and the jaws weren't grabbing on the metal. He pressed a little harder, and the slug tilted and snapped sideways, tweezers squirting off the surface. Charon let out a low hiss.

"Agh, sorry, sorry. It's, uh, really slick in here."

The bullet had turned so that a flat edge was showing. He carefully placed the jaws around the edge, and with constant pressure, drew the slug out. It made a gross sucking sound as it exited the wound completely, and Lee felt a feeling of triumph surge through him.

"Haha! Victory!" he cried, dramatically slamming the slug onto the ground.

Charon grunted at him in a laugh, "Good job."

Lee grabbed a bottle of water and a fresh roll of bandages to flush and wrap the hole that remained. Now that the crisis was over, he let his fingers drift over the section of skin on Charon's arm, on the pretense of checking the bullet wound. It was still feverishly hot, and felt firmer than human skin, almost like leather. It was surprisingly soft, though, and very smooth where it was intact. He grabbed the bandages and hastily started wrapping the puncture, to hide the fact that he was feeling up the ghoul's arm. Charon's shoulders were shaking minutely again. Lee mentally groaned. _I can't get anything past him._

He could hear the grin in Charon's voice when he said, "Go ahead."

He finished the bandage, tying it in place as his thoughts raced. _Do I dare? He told you to, just do it, stop being a little bitch._ Lee's fingers moved over the torn skin; soft, and then rough as the skin gave way to muscle and tendon. He ran both hands over Charon's neck and arms, feeling the bulging musculature and tracing the areas where muscle groups connected. "How do you stay so... in shape?" he asked, trying to think of better phrasing than How do you keep yourself looking like a destroyer-god incarnate?

"Good genes," he paused, looking past a pillar out to the river beyond. The sensation of being touched like this felt foreign it had been so long; it was distracting. "Plus, the kinds of people that normally come into possession of my contract need a lot of killing done. It's usually hard work." Charon tilted his head side to side, and cracked his neck. Lee hesitantly changed his pressure and squeezed the shoulders, feeling the wire-tight tension begin to loosen a little. Charon groaned and let his body relax, slumping forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

Lee smiled at the reaction and continued rubbing and kneading. Neck _, I don't quite dare to try to touch his hair_ , shoulders, upper arms, shoulder blades, spine, sides. They sat there for a while, listening to the water rush by and the wind blow through the bridge supports.

_Wonder if he'll tell me something._ "Sorry if this sounds... weird or stupid, but..." he stopped, maybe this was going too far. _I have no idea what's off-limits for ghouls. He's going to ask now, I should have thought that out a little better,_ he thought, cringing.

"Hm?"

"Ugh, it sounds so crude, I apologize in advance. What did it feel like to turn... into a ghoul?" he winced at the way it sounded. _All with customary tact and wit._ "Before I went to Underworld, I'd only spoken with, I think, two ghouls. Every other one I've seen has been feral." He took a breath. Charon hadn't stiffened or pulled away, so that was a good sign. "I just don't have any experience. With ghouls. So, I'm curious. Sorry."

"I don't know if you should ask other ghouls about that, some get kind of sensitive. They remember being human and they look at what they are now. They get depressed." He rolled his shoulders and looked down again. His voice deepened, "Personally, I don't remember it too well. When my contract came into being, many of my memories were erased. I suppose you didn't talk to Ahzrukhal long enough to hear about it, he loved trotting out the story to anyone who would listen." He took a breath. "I was part of an experiment up in the Commonwealth. Brainwashing and triggers for controlling people. My trigger is my contract."

Lee thought of the paper tucked in his shirt pocket, and felt oddly embarrassed. _It's a tool for controlling a thinking person, this thing shouldn't exist._ He felt a dull thud of anger at whoever would think doing something like this was a good idea. "I told you this before, but I am bound to serve whoever holds it. It might just be paper, but it's still a shackle of sorts. Ghouls live a long time; that paper has been passed to many different people over the years," he raised his head again, and slowly shook it back and forth. "Got off topic. I don't remember turning very well, I just recall a feeling of horror. It doesn't hurt, but it is unnerving to watch the body you knew all your life turn into... well, _this_." He raised his arms and looked at the peeling skin and rough bunches of muscle before squeezing his fists shut and lowering them again.

Lee felt dazed. He had stopped the massage during the explanation, and was resting his hands on Charon's back. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. But thank you for telling me." Charon nodded.

After a minute, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the huge shoulders, hands ending up on Charon's chest. Feeling nervous, he turned his head toward Charon's neck and pressed a kiss into the skin there. He felt his scalp tingle at the contact and heard a nearly inaudible growl come from Charon. It felt wonderful. So he did it again, higher up. Lips brushing across the corded throat, right hand coming up to touch the other side of Charon's jaw. Charon turned toward him, following the pressure from Lee's hand with an amused, expectant look on his face.

_Okay._ He leaned forward, their faces now inches away. Charon's eyes danced with held-in laughter. _Pfff. He doesn't think I'm gonna do it._ Lee closed the distance and pressed his lips firmly against Charon's. His lips burned and face warmed and a slow tingle traveled over his skin where they touched. He broke away and kissed him again, gently, on the corner of the mouth. _It's a start._

"Alright," He grinned at the ghoul's now thoughtful expression. "Let's get some sleep here and we can make it home tomorrow, not far now." Dusk had fallen over the course of Charon's story, and it was nearly pitch black now. There was faint light from the moon and stars, but they were far from any kind of man-made illumination. Lee stared into the dark, almost unable to see again.

Charon stood and glanced around at their surroundings. "We're not safe here, I'll keep watch." The area they were in was sheltered, but still open to the wastes, no doors or walls to speak of. And mirelurks had a bad tendency of sneaking up on people wandering around unknown waters.

"You really don't need to sleep?"

"Rest is nice, but no, I can go for a week or two without feeling any serious strain from it."

Lee shrugged. If he didn't need it, someone to keep watch would be good. "Will you sit with me then?" he asked, patting the end of the couch next to him. "Getting cold out."

"Alright." Charon put his shirt and armor back on, and retrieved his shotgun from the floor; laying it across his legs as he sank into the cushion. Lee swiveled around and leaned his back against Charon's arm. He wiggled until Charon got the hint and moved his arm out of the way, and then lay back on his lap, face leaning against the flat stomach.

"This isn't the best position for dealing with an ambush, y'know," Charon grumbled, looking down at Lee's upturned face and holding his arm aloft.

"Hey, I have every confidence in you." He grabbed Charon's hand and brought it down over his chest, feeling the warmth from his skin engulf him. Charon rolled his eyes and squeezed Lee in a partial hug, settling in to wait for dawn. "Night, Charon." He closed his eyes and, after a while, slept.


	14. The Past

The walk the next morning was pleasantly uneventful. A cool, damp breeze was blowing in from the water and the sky was covered in clouds. The road followed the river for a few miles and would then head inland to point them back to Megaton. Lee figured they could get back before sunset and jokingly suggested they get hammered at Gob's bar as celebration for making it back alive. Charon replied relatively enthusiastically, which gave Lee a moment of pause. _Welllll, oops. That will be fun._

"Have you ever been to Megaton?" Lee asked.

"It's been a long time, but yes. ...And _Gob's_ bar?"

_Hmm, that's right._ His encounter with Colin Moriarty, the previous owner, had been kind of ugly. When he left the vault, Lee had wandered into Megaton and began the first step of his long search for his father. He was eventually pointed towards Moriarty, the owner of a sprawling bar situated right at the top of Megaton, overlooking the rest of the city. Moriarty had been condescending, manipulative, and cruel, which was disguised behind a thin veneer of chumminess. Lee had reluctantly chosen to do Colin a favor in exchange for info on where James had gone, but when he found who he was looking for, he changed his mind in a hurry. Colin had sent him to find a woman named Silver who owed him money. Simple enough. Silver was a skinny, scared-looking girl who had been living in a shack in a tiny abandoned town next to Megaton. She explained that she had taken the money because it was hers, and that Colin was cheating his employees, extorting them nearly to the point of slavery.

Lee had left her alone, and over the next few weeks observed Colin's behavior. He hung out at the bar and got to know Nova and Gob, the last two people unlucky enough to be stuck working there. They worked for him but their pay was so little and the cost of their food and rent was subtracted from that pay, so they actually ended up owing Colin money. He eventually found out from Gob that Moriarty kept tabs on everyone in Megaton, visitors and residents alike, and that he kept all his records on a terminal in the back of the bar. _Well._ His surveillance of Moriarty had shown that he was twice the asshole everyone thought he was; not officially a slaver but close enough, and now, with the info Lee wanted in hand, he was expendable.

The solution to his problem dropped into his lap one day as Lee went exploring around the Megaton area. He had been walking out past the huge rusted wall of the town, and had heard a loud thunk in the earth beside him. A hole was there. A few seconds later, a louder metallic thunk and a hole appeared in the metal wall beside him. Extremely alarmed, he dove behind a rock, and drew his 10mm, hoping for the assailant to either give up or come closer to try to finish him. Whatever weapon the person was using sounded powerful but really slow. If they came up close, Lee could probably dodge around and take him out. He waited in the shadow of the rock, straining his ears for any kind of noise, heart pounding and sweat starting to break out on his forehead. There, a quiet crunching was approaching around the right side of the rock. Lee tensed, waiting for the perfect moment to surprise whoever was coming. Before the person emerged, Lee quietly snuck the other way around the rock, circling behind the shooter. Three shots to the torso and back of the head, and the man dropped, collapsing in the dust. Feeling sickened, killing another person was still brand new to him, he nudged the body over with his foot. A blonde guy in leather armor and a pair of sunglasses; an angry snarl frozen onto his staring face. And a huge black rifle clutched in his arms. Lee picked up the gun, momentarily freaked out at the feel of the resistance of the dead man's hands on it. After the initial gross-out, he was immediately enamored with the gun. The rifle was heavy, but the weight was solid, reassuring. The sun glinted off the lens in the scope, and shone down the long barrel. He pulled the gun up against his shoulder and looked through the scope, the background scenery leaping out at him. Feeling very done with exploring for the day, he turned and went back home.

The next night, Lee had climbed up onto the roof of his house toting his new treasure. He sat on the ledge facing the center of town, looking at the glowing lights from signs and the few people still wandering around. He sighted with the rifle scope and casually checked out the surrounding buildings. Walter puttering around outside the water plant, Jericho stumbling home probably drunk, and... _ah._ Colin Moriarty leaning over the rail in front of the saloon. Completely alone. Lee leaned back and balanced the rifle barrel on his knee. Moriarty's face looked huge in the crosshairs, glaring down at the city. His focus narrowed down to a point, and a soft roaring started up in his ears, blanking out every other sound. Gob, Nova, and Silver floated through his mind. He squeezed the trigger.

It was hard going to the bar the next day and pretending he knew nothing about it.

Lee shook his head, returning from his thoughts. Charon gave him a questioning look. "Yeah, Gob's bar. The other guy had a, uh, accident..." he trailed off, squeezing his rifle without knowing it. "Gob took over." Charon raised an eyebrow, but continued walking without asking about it. He'd met Colin a few times, and it looked like the bullshit he'd been up to had finally caught up to him.

The sun was nearly overhead now, and they were approaching what looked like a large dock. A short boardwalk, a shack, and many tables and chairs arranged overlooking the river.

"Wanna stop here for lunch? The lady's nice." Lee raised a hand in greeting at the old woman calling herself Grandma Sparkle, who had turned to watch them approach. Charon shrugged and nodded. Lee bartered for some food, and they walked to the far side of the dock and sat down on one of the piers. As they ate, they watched the river flowing by, the endlessly circling birds, and the heavy cloud cover moving sluggishly across the sky.

"Tell me something about you, Charon," Lee said, still chewing. "Something I don't know."

Charon appeared to think, brow scrunching up. He rested his chin on his palm and stared at the reflections of the clouds rippling across the water. "What little I can remember of my past is ugly. I think..." he paused for a minute, looking pensive. "I think when I was human, I lived in the New York area, up north of here. That was one of the areas that got the worst of it in the war. New York, D.C., California, Alaska," he added, ticking the names off on his fingers.

The names sounded exotic and old. Pieces of the past that once existed, forever ago. Lee waited to see if Charon would venture anything else, drawing his knees up and wrapping his arms around his legs.

"I've always been, well, a killer. Mercenary, bodyguard, hired gun. One of my few memories from before the war was working for rich men in expensive suits wearing gaudy jewelry. Dim, smoky rooms; illegal business being done. I was a gun for hire then, and I still am, in a manner of speaking.

"Not that I mind it, it's what I'm good at, and it feels good to use your talent. I just have no control over who I work for, now. And there have been plenty of bad people, human and ghoul alike. I'm lucky, you know," he turned his head slightly to look at Lee out of the corner of a pale eye. "You're the easiest boss I've had in decades."

Lee hmphed a laugh at that, smiling into his knees. "You know, at the Ninth Circle, when I saw you working there you reminded me of a pissed-off animal in a cage."

"I was," Charon said simply. "Ahzrukhal was an evil bastard, but I have to put aside my personal moral code for my employer. The worst part of working for him was the boredom. I stood in that corner every day for twenty-two years. The only relief I got from it was when he would send me out every month for four or five days to pick up a delivery or scare some poor jerk who didn't pay up quick enough. Which I took advantage of. Those breaks were the only thing keeping me sane."

"Well, good thing he stole a bag of caps from the wrong skinny vault kid then, huh?" Lee wiggled an eyebrow at him.

Charon smirked and rolled his eyes, "Yes."

Lee chewed on his lip and turned to look at Charon. "The sleeping thing… is that normal? For ghouls, I mean. As far as I know, Gob sleeps just as much as I do."

Charon heaved a sigh. "No, it's not normal. I get nightmares sometimes. I can't usually remember what they're about, but I have to assume it's stuff from the Commonwealth labs. I wake up disoriented with my heart aching, getting ready to scream. I sleep less so it happens less, is all."

They stuck around for a while, watching the clouds sail by with their wavery doppelgangers in the water. Lee stood and stretched his arms up over his heads, arm bones cracking and feet stretched up en pointe. He stuck out a hand at Charon to help him up. "Let's keep moving." Charon took the proffered hand and stood, his huge presence overwhelming Lee again. He shivered. _It's so easy to forget how big he is when he's sitting..._ Lee kept hold of his hand for an extra second, staring at his chest and arms and letting his darker gaze drift up to the pale blue eyes. "Yes," he said.

Charon raised an eyebrow.

"To answer your question, yes, you bother the hell out of me."


	15. Super Duper Monster

They had only been walking for about half an hour when Lee noticed strange movement up ahead. They were walking under an old ruin of an overpass, and the Super Duper Mart was in the distance. In the far-off parking lot he could see an unfamiliar shape. It was tall, taller than a mutant, and was walking with an odd, loping gait. And the shape seemed... wrong, but it was too far to see clearly. Thoroughly alarmed, he tapped Charon's shoulder and said in a hushed voice, "Wait. Something's up there." Lee pulled out his rifle and looked down the scope. He had no explanation for what he saw. The thing's head had pale eyes, curved horns, long jagged teeth, and a jutting jaw. It walked upright, but hunched over; with powerful-looking legs and long, bandy arms that ended in foot-long claws. _It looks like a demon._

Completely unnerved, he motioned for Charon to take a look through the rifle. "What is that thing?" Charon sidled up next to Lee and looked through the eye-piece; he drew in a deep breath. _Oh good lord, what now..._

"That is a deathclaw. It's probably best if we don't... draw… " he trailed off.

"What?" Lee hissed.

"It's noticed us."

"Well, what then?! Shoot it or run?" he focused back on the monster, which was now running toward them with bounding leaps. _Those claws look like they'd rip you to shreds._

"It's too fast. Shoot it in the leg if you can, you don't want it jumping at you."

_Easy peasy if it wasn't RUNNING!_ He aimed at the legs, trying to go for the thick part of the thigh. It was only about 100 feet away now. He took a shot and missed.

"Firing!" Charon yelled, and began to walk toward the charging deathclaw.

_Shit!_ Lee hissed and lined up another shot. Drew a deep breath, squeezed the trigger. _Hah!_ A huge hole appeared in the dead center of the thing's right thigh. The deathclaw's face didn't seem capable of expression, but it still appeared shocked as the leg collapsed under it and the monster spilled sideways onto the asphalt. It had gotten very close in the few seconds it was running, and the thing slid near to where Charon was walking. He approached the deathclaw and aimed at the head. *bam!* *ch-cht* *bam!* The head disintegrated into a cloud of blood and shreds of skin and bone. Lee felt a weird swoop of deja vu. _I heard that exact noise when... I was falling asleep. He went to talk to..._

He joined Charon, standing next to the headless corpse. The huge scaly body was still, blood still energetically pumping from the space where a neck once was. Lee looked at it with a sick satisfaction, heart still pounding uncomfortably. "When you fixed my ankle and I fell asleep back in Underworld... You went and killed Ahzrukhal, didn't you."

"Yes," he rumbled, still looking at the body.

"Good." Lee poked the deathclaw's leg with his foot. It was massive and heavy. And very dead. "Let's get going before we run into a fifty foot tall yao guai or something. I'm done with this."

"Of course."

They walked up to and past the ancient grocery store, cars littering the lot like empty bug husks. A distant water tower on the hill ahead was the marker Lee had been looking for.

"There, up that hill, past that tower and we're home. Can't wait to just sit on my ass for a good while." Lee's feet were dragging.

Charon smirked, "Tired already?"

Lee craned his head around and peered at the ghoul, "You're kidding, right?"

Charon's smirk widened into a gleeful smile. "Nope." He crouched and transferred his shotgun to his hand. "Come on, you're going too slow."

Trying to keep the surprise off his face, Lee hopped on his back, and Charon started jogging up the long hill. Charon laughed into the wind as Lee muttered "Fuckin' show-off ghouls."


	16. Home

Lee took a deep breath as he unlocked the door to his house and stepped in. The smell and feel of the empty, unlived-in house was always one of the things he looked forward to when he came home from trips. No breath had disturbed its air for the three weeks he'd been gone, and it was dim, cool, and silent. He unbuckled his pack and gear and tossed everything on the floor. Coming home and getting to just throw aside all the survival gear and be free was a nice feeling. He turned to look at Charon, who was still lurking in the doorway, examining the room. Charon looked amused.

"It looks like you have half the Arlington Library in here," he said.

Lee crossed to the light switch and flipped it, soft yellow light filling the room and illuminating makeshift bookshelves lining the walls and stacks of books, holotapes, and magazines on the floor. "Yeeaaah, maybe not half, but those scribes hanging out there weren't too happy with me swiping all their research material." He ran a hand over the spines of a row of books, righting one that had fallen. "Not much to do when I'm here, just sleep and eat, so I started collecting every salvageable book, tape, and film I could find." Lee turned and started walking upstairs, calling back down "Put your stuff anywhere."

Pulling the door shut behind him, Charon crossed to a small workbench and propped his shotgun against the metal frame. He stretched his arms and examined one of the shelves. Newspapers, several proclaiming simply "War Declared!" in bold letters as the headline; holotape recordings of old movies; magazines with ragged edges and faded pictures. _I should remember some of these... but nothing._ He shrugged and leaned against the locker on the wall; listening to the ceiling creak as Lee walked around upstairs. His feet finally appeared again, coming back down.

"Wellp, everything's how I left it."

"Good. So how about that trip to the bar you were talking about?"

Lee groaned, "Nooooo, I was hoping you forgot." He clumped the rest of the way down the stairs and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up in crazy spikes. "Go easy on me, okay. I'm not a big drinker," he said with a grimace.

Charon laughed and pushed away from the locker, "Not a chance."

The town was silent, but as they approached Gob's Saloon, as it is now called, shouts and singing could be heard, along with laughter and the clinking of bottles and glasses. Since Moriarty had left, the place had become a big hotspot for drinking and partying at night. The now-relaxed atmosphere brought in plenty of people, both local and visitors. _Amazing what getting rid of a bartender rumored to piss in his stills will do for business._ Lee pulled open the door and walked in, a blast of noise and warm air greeting him. He made his way over to the bar, pushing past a few patrons. Gob turned and noticed him.

"Mouse!" he exclaimed, a smile lighting up his ragged face. "Hey! You're back! Drinks are on me tonight, how did your trip go?" Lee grinned and raised a hand in greeting; then watched Gob's face turn from happy to shocked as he noticed who was following Lee. Gob's mouth dropped open. "Charon?"

Lee felt Charon's presence behind him now, and could hear the smirk in his voice when he nodded and replied, "Gob."

"Hah!" Gob ran around the bar and catapulted himself into Charon, wrapping his arms around Charon's waist. "Are you here with Mouse?"

Charon, looking slightly embarrassed, patted Gob on the back and answered, "Yes." He glanced at Lee, who had turned to watch them, and made a _well, what can I do_ face at him.

"Yess! Amazing!" He gave Charon a final squeeze and walked back around to the bartender side of the bar. He looked like he was trying not to dance and jump around. Lee gave Gob a quizzical look. "Ah, Charon didn't mention me, huh?" he said, falling back into a more relaxed attitude. "No surprise. I'm sure he's still the stony, silent-as-the-grave guy he always was, right." Lee snorted at that and Gob nodded and continued. "When I still lived in Underworld he was like a big brother to Patches and me. His 'free time' when he came back from errands, he'd come hang out with us, tell us about where he'd been and what he'd seen, try to teach us how to shoot. Well, me anyway, I'm sure if you've met Patches, you know you don't want him anywhere near a firearm." Lee burst out laughing.

Gob smiled. "So, what can I get you two?"

"A whiskey," Charon rumbled. Gob searched under the bar for a bottle and Lee remembered he had a message for Gob.

"Oh yeah, Gob. Carol says she's really happy you're doing well, and that, and I quote, she misses your darling face and wants you to be careful."

Gob reappeared with the bottle and handed it over with a laugh. "That's great. Since I've got Nova to help out around here now, maybe I could take some time off and go see her sometime... It's been years."

Charon took the offered bottle and spun the cap off, taking a huge gulp. Lee stared at him. _Oh man, this is going to be a long night if he thinks I'm gonna match him._ He shot a helpless glance at Gob, who spread his hands and made an I can't do anything face.

Charon noticed the exchange and laughed, rasping, "C'mon vault kid, celebration time."

Lee spent most of the night delaying when it was his turn to take a drink, and then making faces at the horrible taste. Charon laughed at him and continued drinking the whiskey like it was water.

"How can you stand this stuff?" Lee asked, after watching Charon down another mouthful. The bottle was almost gone, and Lee was feeling dizzy and silly, even though he'd only drank less than a quarter of it.

"Practice," Charon growled, looking slightly tipsy himself. He tilted the bottle back and drank off the rest of it. They were still standing at the bar. Lee had been talking to Gob and greeting the people he knew; Andy and Lucy had come by, and oddly enough, Moira had made an appearance. Nova was running around the back room, fixing food and cleaning, and Lee even caught a glimpse of Silver helping her out. _Wow, she came back._ The crowd was dying down by now, it was late.

"Hope it was good practice, now you gotta get us home." _Don't think I'm drunk-drunk, but... yeah unstable._ He stood back from the bar and wavered a little, colors seeming over-bright and blurry. _Okay, maybe drunk._ They said goodnight to Gob as he wiped down the bar, waving at them. The night air was cold and damp, blowing through their hair and chilling their skin. Lee stumbled and put a hand on Charon's shoulder, giggling. It occurred to him dimly that his cheeks were burning again. Charon had put an arm around Lee's waist to keep him from falling on his ass as they walked back, down stairs and up ramps.

Lee fumbled with his key, unlocked the door, and let it swing open. The house was only lit by a lamp upstairs; deep shadows covered the floors and walls. They stepped in, both feeling the weird, almost electric feeling of entering a quiet house after being away with noise and light and excitement. "Bed?" Lee asked, sweeping the door closed. He wasn't sleepy, but lying down sounded nice. _Or something._ Charon swept his hand out, making an after you gesture.

"Catch me if I fall, okay," Lee muttered, climbing the stairs first. He laughed as he felt a warm palm press against his upper back in preparation for the tumble.

"Oh yeah, my bed's kind of weird. Didn't really think about it but I guess it'll work out, since you're so tall." He kicked his boots off and pulled the bedroom door open. Turning around, he fell back and flopped on the triple layer of blanket-covered mattresses stretching wall-to-wall. "Took a lot of scavving and dragging, but pretty good, huh?" He folded his arms behind his head and grinned up at Charon, who was leaning in the doorway looking at him dubiously. Lee's grin turned impish, "No armor allowed though." It was hard to tell in the darkness, but it looked like Charon was rolling his eyes as hard as he could.

_Oh, dang._ Charon started unbuckling his chest plates and let them drop to the floor with a thunk. He unbuttoned the jacket part of the armor and shrugged it off. The shirt came next, lingering just a little longer than he had to when drawing it over his head. Dragging his fingers down his torso, clearly enjoying this way too much, he unbuckled the leg armor and let it fall, stepping out of it and standing still again. He crossed his arms, muscles bulging against his chest, and waited, smirking.

"Ugh, you're killing me," Lee murmured, voice husky.

He looked up at Charon towering over him from his place near the floor. _He's... waiting for me, isn't he? Fuck it._ He stood and closed the distance between him and Charon, reaching a hand out and letting his fingertips brush down the ragged torso. A low rumble emanated from Charon's chest, but he stood perfectly still. Lee leaned forward, scalp prickling in apprehension, and kissed Charon's thin lips. The rumble rose into a growl, and Charon un-folded his arms to grab Lee, crushing their bodies together. The next minutes were a tangle of kissing lips, biting teeth, and clothes roughly pulled off and thrown on the floor. Breathing elevated, they paused when everything was gone, and silently appraised the other; standing like fighters about to attack. Lee's long, thin body, skin smooth and pale versus Charon's looming height and darkly marred flesh. Then they came together again, red on white, rough on soft.

"Never met a smoothskin who liked peeling skin and radiation burns so much," his last word turned into a hitched breath as Lee bit down on his neck sharply. Lee was shoved backwards, his knees catching on the edge of the bed and the rest of him toppling over, landing with a grunt. Charon jumped on him, hanging inches over his face, looking down with his unsettling blue eyes.

"Hey, your burns are pretty hot," Lee said, lifting his head to capture Charon's lips in another kiss. He let a hand drift downward, palm sliding across Charon's erection; fingertips stroking the twitching skin. The ghoul froze and hissed in a breath. "Bothered?" Lee smirked up at Charon.

"It's... been a while," he admitted, breathing raggedly.

Lee pinched a nipple, laughing at the jerk of Charon's body. "Payback," He rested his face at the junction of Charon's neck and shoulder, nibbling and sucking his skin. "For all your teasing," he breathed in Charon's ear. Charon rubbed against him and grunted.

"Enough fucking around," His voice had dropped and his eyes had a menacing glint to them. Lee realized that Charon's skin had gone from hot to burning. _How can he live like that, he's like a furnace._

Charon sat back, leaning on his haunches. Lee gazed at him kneeling between his stretched-out legs. _Terrible... and bewitching. He's a perfect shape in a decayed case._ The duality was enthralling. Charon raised a torn finger to his mouth, coating it in saliva. His other hand grabbed Lee's hip and roughly brought it up over his knee, suspending his lower half in the air.

"Relax," he murmured as he pressed the wet digit into Lee.

"Hngh!" A breathy cry came from Lee; he was burning from the heat of Charon's skin and a little from the pain. His breathing turned heavy as Charon worked in and out, slowly acclimatizing to the feeling. A haze was filling his mind; he brought a hand down and lazily stroked himself, rolling his hips in time with Charon's hand. The ghoul added another finger, twisting and stretching slowly. Lee shuddered at the feeling; his body felt warm all over, but blazing and tingling at the point of contact between them. "Come on," he grated out, impatient.

Charon withdrew his fingers and spat into the palm of his hand; grabbing his cock and stroking it to lubricate it somewhat. He lined himself up with Lee's entrance and very slowly pushed himself in. Lee's nerves sang and he gasped at the feel of Charon roughly grasping both his hips and starting to pick up the pace. He could hear Charon bark out a breath as he fully sheathed himself, then a heavier, more regular breathing as he started to fuck him in earnest. The friction built up between them, Charon thrusting rhythmically and Lee with one hand thrown back and the other sliding up and down his own cock.

Charon leaned down over him, pushing his legs back toward his chest. He bit Lee's jaw and grunted at the jerk his body gave. Lee snapped his head back around and clamped his teeth onto Charon's lip, biting and kissing. He could feel himself starting to let go, blood surging through his body, a tingling pulse in his lower half, a hum starting up in his throat. Charon sensed the change and sped up, pumping faster. They came a few seconds later, spasming together in the dark room. Lee cried out, feeling the huge build-up release and fade away. Charon cursed quietly, hands digging savagely into Lee's skin.

Lee sighed, letting his tense body relax and flop back onto the bed. Charon extricated himself from the sweaty tangle of legs and rolled over next to Lee. They both lay in the dark, letting their breathing get back to normal and relaxing into the thick layer of blankets. Lee flopped a hand over and bumped Charon in the bicep. "Sleeping, eh?"

He got a pinch in the side as a reward. "I haven't done that in years, gimme a break." He dragged Lee closer to him and quickly fell asleep; one arm draped around the human and his face laying against the soft skin at the base of Lee's neck.


	17. The Storm

They stayed in Megaton for a few days. Sitting on the roof trying to hold shouting matches with Stockholm. Charon trying to casually inch over to stand next to the un-detonated nuke when they stopped by the Brass Lantern. Watching holotapes at night. One of them was an old gangster film; Lee had poked Charon when an actor with almost the same accent as him had spoken. One of the main guys' bodyguards. 'Ey boss, I don't like the looka dat guy.' Charon had smiled distractedly and watched the movie with a wistful concentration, flickering light playing over his face. Helping Walter with his repair work and dodging his swats when Lee tried to crack wise at him. Dropping into Moira's store to trade and say hello.

Lee started getting restless as the days went by. _A week. That's all it takes and then I go crazy._ He paced the house when at home, flipping through books without really reading anything and seemed tense and high-strung when he walked the city. His constant fidgeting eventually even got to Charon, who had enough patience for several people. After one instance of Lee sitting on the floor clicking the magazine of his rifle in and out, over and over, Charon finally lunged at him, knocking him flat on his back. He landed with a thump, and Charon loomed over him, plucking the magazine out of his hand.

"Let's go somewhere. You're driving me batshit."

So they went.

Lee re-packed his bag, cleaned and repaired their guns, and they set off out the massive gates of Megaton. _Well. Now where._ It's fine to go exploring but... where to.

"Welp, the big decision. Make sure I don't crash into Deputy Weld, please." He closed his eyes and spun in a circle. Charon looked at him, startled. Lee slowed to a stop and pointed a finger straight out, opening his eyes.

"Northwest." He smiled and glanced up at Charon, "Let's go."

They headed out, passing through Springvale and past the hilly entrance of Vault 101. Lee peered up the path toward the wooden door that marked the entrance. "That's where my vault is. It looks so tiny from out here." Charon glanced at it, unsure of what to say. Lee's face was cloudy and he looked contemplative.

They kept going, walking past huge rocks embedded in the ground, old burnt trees, flat stretches of scrubby grass. It was quiet, the only sound was the gritting of their boots in the dirt. A faint wind was blowing, whistling through the dead vegetation and brushing their hair back. Beside him, Charon looked like he could walk forever; face set, arms swinging freely, and the ever-present shotgun on his back. Lee set his feet on auto-pilot and fell into thought.

The vault was always there in the back of his mind, waiting for a reason to spring to the front and yammer about his old life. The kids he had grown up with. Prim, proper Amata... struggling under the shadow of her father, but always there ready to listen or help. Butch constantly preening and posturing, but insecure on the inside. Paul, a surprisingly sweet guy who, sadly, got captured by Butch's charisma and the appeal of being in his "gang". Wally and Susie, a terror together when they were younger, but then growing apart as they grew up. Wally went with Butch and Paul to make the Tunnel Snakes; a group whose sole purpose seemed to be sneering and acting like assholes. Wally's sister Susie hung around the other girls of the vault, becoming a giggling teenager who spent more time thinking about hair and makeup than anything else. Lee smiled at that. He'd always seen a strong resemblance between the siblings and even when she started trying to look more womanly, he could still see a lot of her brother in her face. It would send him into gales of laughter thinking of Wally with long hair and lipstick. Susie never asked about his random laughing fits, and Lee never explained what they were about.

_And Jonas._ Lee's mirth subsided as he thought of his dad's lab assistant. Lee had found him dead in his office the day the vault had opened, killed by security. His eyes closed, mouth no longer smiling, glasses cracked and shining in the bright vault light. He'd had a holotape with him, a message from James to Lee, and wrapped around it was a hastily scribbled note. It had read: _I was caught, but your old man made it out. I hope you find him out there and help him finish what he started. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to see you grow up. I'll miss you. Take care, kiddo._ Lee clenched his fists at the memory and tried to keep his tears back. He blinked and looked at the sky. That had been bad, seeing him there. His father was missing and half the vault was out for his blood, but that had seemed like the biggest offence. Jonas was the kindest person he knew... always there to talk to when his dad was too busy with work. He would always draw up an extra chair and let Lee sit with him when he was working on something; quietly explaining his process and results. He was probably the closest thing to a best friend he'd had then. Lee knew he didn't really have a natural aptitude for it, but Jonas always made medicine seem so noble and interesting. He sighed quietly, part from frustration and part from regret.

Lee slowly realized that the atmosphere had changed. He'd chalked up the uncomfortable feel of the past few minutes to his reminiscing, but now he saw that the sun was overcast and the air had a strange charged quality. Charon grumbled deep in his chest, sounding anxious and slowed his pace.

"Uhh... something feels off. What's...?" Lee trailed off, trying to really take in his surroundings. The air had turned completely still and felt heavy. The sky was slowly darkening into an ugly greyish yellow color and thick clouds could be seen on the horizon. There was a flash as the sky brightened for a split second in the distance. "...Charon," he said, voice rising nervously. They stopped.

"I don't think we should be outside for this." _Outside?_ Lee looked up at the sky again. Charon turned and looked behind them. "We passed a small cliff back there with a door in it, we might want to-" A rumbling noise was building in the air around them. After a moment it swelled and erupted into a thunderous cracking sound that seemed to come from every direction. Lee clamped his hand down on Charon's arm, body wired and face distraught. His eyes darted everywhere, but there was no visible cause for the huge noise, just the clouds rolling slowly towards them. A faint breeze had started up and Charon's arm pulled him backwards as he began moving.

"Come on, come on!" He sounded worried now, and Lee followed, his anxiety feeding off of Charon's. They pelted back the way they came, Lee scared because he didn't know what was going on, and Charon because he did.

"Charon! What is it?" Lee yelled as they scrambled around rocks in their path and leaped over dips in the earth. The cliff they were running at was visible now, a leaning chain link fence around one side of it. Another loud crash echoed across the sky.

"Rain!" he shouted back, "This isn't good."

_Rain? So the noise was thunder._ "Isn't that just water?" He'd seen plenty of videos with rain in them at some point, and had studied weather effects but... _No, that's right._ There had been no rain or snow or anything that he'd actually seen while outside the vault.

"It used to be. C'mon, before it starts." They slid down the hill and wheeled around toward the wooden shack door set into the rock. It opened easily and they jumped inside. They stood a few steps back from the open door, and caught their breath as the wind moaned around the rocks and gate outside. Lee watched the rectangle of light continue to darken, and then it began. Drops of dark liquid began to hit the ground. Not much at first, but it increased until the world was filled with the quiet roar of water. He peered around the doorframe, watching the rain pound into the earth and cover the rocks with a dirty film. He glanced back at Charon.

"Is it supposed to be black? It's not, is it?"

Charon shook his head, watching the rain fall. "No, this is what it's looked like since the war." His face stayed calm but his voice grated with annoyance. "It's black from the smoke and char from the fires that started after the explosions. From cities, forests, everything. It's dirty, acidic, and probably still very radioactive." He crouched and sat against the wall of the cave they were in. "It burns when it touches your skin, and if you're not a ghoul or a mutant, you'll get very sick very quickly from the amount of rads in it. Good thing it almost never happens."

Lee tore his eyes away from the door and joined Charon on the floor. "So we're stuck here until it's done, right? How long do you think it'll last?"

"I do not know. A few minutes, an hour, all day." He smirked at Lee's look of alarm. "Probably only an hour or two. The world is past the time of drawn-out storms."

Lee lay back against the curve of the cave wall and closed his eyes. Even if the rain was radioactive dirt acid, the sound was nice. _Well, I can either take a nap, or fiddle with something 'til Charon loses it again... ...or see where we are, I guess._ He opened his eyes and studied the surrounding area. The door in the wall was still propped open, and let in a very dim light from the now orange sky. The doorway was slightly raised from the ground outside, so no water was getting in, but it had started to pool into murky black puddles in the dirt out there. Some old metal drums littered the floor, and the ceiling was just rock, a rounded ceiling. The floor they were on sloped downwards and back into the darkness. He stared into the dark... _if it was still sunny outside I could probably see a lot further..._ Feeling slightly creeped out at the unknown area yawning out next to them, he turned to Charon.

"I'm gonna go check out the rest of the cave."

Charon made a short hmph of acknowledgement, not moving at all. Lee squinted at him. Legs stretched out, arms crossed, and head tilted back leaning against the wall. His eyes were shut and he looked supremely relaxed; could've been asleep. Lee crawled over his legs and sank into a crouch in front of the ghoul, their faces a few inches apart. "Aren't you curious what's back there?" he asked, excitement dancing in his eyes. A tiny slit of one blue eye appeared and vanished again, lips quirking up at the corners.

"Not as much as you are, apparently," he mumbled. "Go ahead."

Lee grinned and inched closer. The bridge of his nose drifted over Charon's jawline and he whispered against his neck, "Charon what if there's _monsters_? Aren't you going to protect me?"

An exasperated sigh. "There's nothing alive in here."

"How do you know?"

"Doesn't smell like anything living." He drew in a breath. "Just rock and... maybe metal and electronics further in."

"Okay what if there's robots-" Before he could finish his sentence, Charon grabbed him, pulling an ankle upwards and shoving a shoulder back so that Lee quickly found himself staring at the cave ceiling. The rest of his question turned into a strangled *gack*. The ghoul's face loomed over his, an eyebrow sardonically raised and two massive arms planted by either side of his chest.

"Are you really going to sit here the entire time and ask me inane questions about this chunk of dirt we're sitting in?"

"Okay! Okay," Charon leaned back and let Lee scramble up. "I'll go look by myself. And get eaten… by ghosts."

Charon leaned back against the wall again and waved a dismissive hand at him. Lee sniffed and walked toward the unexplored part of the cave.

It wasn't completely dark. There was only barely enough light to keep from tripping over the chunks of rock littering the floor and to follow the slight curvature of the cave. He could see a long crate of something standing on the floor, and a... _hey, a light._ A tiny amber light, pulsing and illuminating what looked like a tilted board. He approached the table and could sense he had finally hit the end of the tunnel. _Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa._ His eyes re-fixed on the board, which he could now see was actually a control panel covered with levers and buttons. A cold chill ran down his back. _I know what this is, I've seen it before. Twice._ He stuck a hand out past the panel and touched the wall behind it. Smooth rock... and then a sharp dip and a flat stretch of metal. He traced the angular border of the groove and shouted back to Charon.

He could hear the vague surprise in Charon's voice as he walked up and saw the back wall. "What is this?"

Lee felt his emotions clash around: fear, excitement, bewilderment. He knew the answer would be a yes, but he wanted to hear it from Charon, who could actually see what was in front of them.

"Charon, what's in the middle of this big metal thing? Is there a number?" he asked, voice trembling.

"Yeah. 106."


	18. Into the Blue

His thoughts raced and jumbled together. _Another vault. I've seen one besides 101, but this is crazy._ He paced in front of the massive door, not seeing it in the dark, but feeling its huge presence. Finding his dad in 112 was incredible, seeing an entirely new vault, hidden from the world. But this was more shocking, they'd stumbled onto it out of nowhere. Totally unexpected.

He stopped and swung toward Charon, a dim outline standing in the dark. "It's a vault," he said, finally answering Charon's query, and turned back toward the panel reaching for the lever that would make the huge machinery start up and open the door.

His hand suddenly stopped moving. "Wait." Charon had grabbed his wrist, not exerting force but also not letting him move. Lee looked up, questioning.

"We have no idea what's in there."

Confusion. "What's in there? It's a vault, what would be in there? Just people, right?"

Charon let go, but didn't step away. The nearly manic air of excitement coming from Lee was making him nervous. "It might be, or it might be completely flooded with radiation, or full of something that likes living in a dark cave. And if it is people, what kind?" Lee, barely listening, was edging closer to the control panel, still twitchy and worked up. Charon scowled and stepped smoothly into Lee, pressing a hand against his chest and pinning him easily against the cog-shaped door. The glow from the board played on Charon's face, further deepening the crags and ridges in his skin.

Charon growled and stepped close to him. "Just be careful. Don't rush in blindly." He looked at Lee again, carefully. Breathing rapid, skin flushed, eyes staring intently. _Oh come on, of all the..._ He leaned in closer, faces barely an inch apart.

"What?" he breathed, dropping his voice to a low snarl and inwardly laughing at the state of agitation Lee was in.

Lee closed his eyes and sagged against the door and the hand still holding him there. _Damn him and his sexy… scariness and freakish strength._ "Uhhg stop it. I'll be careful, okay? No rushing." He swallowed loudly. "This has gotta be the weirdest place..." he stopped, and furrowed his eyebrows. _Enough._

The hand and body withdrew. Lee could hear the smile in Charon's voice. "What's wrong? Are you..."

"No, I am NOT!" Lee interrupted, and stomped over to the control pad. He could hear Charon chuckling under his breath behind him. He wheeled around and poked a finger at Charon. "Come on, be serious. Let's see if this thing even opens." _Might be locked, who knows._

"Sure," he unslung his shotgun and stood back a ways from the door. The rain was still pouring outside, and by now Charon was also a little curious about what the vault would be like. Lee glanced over his shoulder at him.

"Here goes." He pulled the lever.

Immediately a harsh siren started blaring from somewhere inside the vault. Metal groaned and clanked, and after a brief silence, the massive blast door squealed inwards and rolled aside. A blast of cold, ancient-smelling air rushed out. The immediate interior was rusted and pretty destroyed looking; Lee looked around at the room, shocked. _Barely any air filtration, there's no heat, and it looks like shit. What the hell..._ Lee glanced up at Charon, suddenly quite a bit less sure of himself. Charon shrugged and walked in, stepping over the deep grooves in the threshold where the door had been. _This place has been broken down for a really long time._

"You knew. How?" His voice was small as he followed the ghoul inside, staring around him at the familiar architecture.

"I've heard things. Stories." He nudged a box over with his boot then drifted over to examine a giant workstation near the entrance rails.

"Well?" Lee prompted, trying to contain his impatience.

"People discover them every once in a while and see weird stuff there. Vaults full of glowing feral ghouls..." he made a face at that, but continued. "...vaults packed with skeletons, way too many for how much living space there was. Vaults that were still sealed, but flooded, or filled with people who had gone completely insane." Charon looked over at Lee, who had stopped moving and looked blankly lost in thought. "You were so excited, I didn't think you'd believe me if you didn't see it. This place looks like it's probably empty. Sorry."

Lee gave a shuddering sigh. "I had no idea." He scuffed the floor with his boot. "Kinda wanna look around still, if it's empty. Memories, y'know." Charon nodded and they went deeper in, Lee passing a hand over the door panel. The hissing clunk was a familiar noise, and Lee smiled as it clicked into the recess in the wall.

Everything was rusted, or broken, or knocked over. As they headed lower, the air got even colder. "It's pretty chilly down here, you gonna be okay?" Lee asked, wondering about his odd body temperature.

His intent must have been at least a little clear, because Charon answered, "Fine, I'm not a lizard." He rolled his shoulders and continued looking around the hallway they were in.

"Something wrong?" The way Charon kept tilting his head and glancing around was weirding Lee out.

"Do you... smell anything?"

Lee took a deep breath. "Nnnno. Smells like metal. Dirt. Why?"

Charon hmphed. "Nothing, maybe I'm imagining it. Keeps coming and going anyway." He made a flapping gesture with his hand, _go on_.

They came to a single room at the end of the hall. The door shushed open and then the world went blue. _Blue?_ Lee whirled around, eyes wide and darting. The place was cast in a hazy, bluish-purple tint, the surfaces of the room seemed... cleaner? _How is that possible?_ But worst of all, Charon was no longer standing next to him. He wasn't anywhere in sight. _Uhhh._ He stared into the hallway, eyes flicking over every surface. It was straight, no bends to hide behind. There was no way Charon had time to sprint to the end and back up the stairs. And besides that, why would he? Heart pounding, Lee turned back to the room and looked around. Electricity seemed to arc up his back. Someone was there. Hunched over a desk in the far corner. White coat and short dark hair. Lee felt like he was floating as he walked closer to the person. The man. Whoever it was noticed he was there. The head slowly turned to look at him approaching. An ear, one cheek, a rim of glasses. Lee stopped cold.

"Jonas?" he said in a breathless whisper. As soon as the word was out of his mouth the room popped back to what it had originally looked like. Dark, overturned chairs, certainly no one sitting at the drunkenly leaning desk in the corner. A man who was supposed to be dead. _What the fuck just happened?_ A cold sweat broke out on his skin. He looked at the desk where Jonas had been. Waved his hand through the space above the chair. Nothing. No sign that anyone had sat there for years. _Okay. So I'm seeing... visions. Or something. Totally normal._

He turned back to the open door. _Where the hell is Charon? Did he see something too?_ Walking through the empty halls alone was nerve wracking. Lee kept glancing over his shoulder, certain that someone would be there each time. He tried to squash the idea, but panic kept rising through him in sour bubbles. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, in the case that this place wasn't empty, but it couldn't be helped. Charon was nowhere to be found and vaults were enormously extensive. He no longer cared about exploring this place, it had shot well over the acceptable creepy level. _I just want to find Charon and get out. Wait for the rain to stop in that tiny cave and be bored together. This was stupid._

He called out "Charon." in a scratchy voice barely above a whisper. No response, of course. No one could hear that. He felt terrified of raising his voice any further, this place was feeling more and more like a tomb.

"Charon!"

Lee winced at the sharp noise echoing away. But... there. A footstep nearby. Lee stepped forward, a greeting already forming on his lips. But then another footstep. A dragging footstep and a mumble. _That isn't Charon's voice._ The hair on the back of Lee's neck rose in thick hackles. _Someone else there's someone here what do I do who is it!_ The source of the noise rounded the corner.

The first thing he noticed was the vault suit. Torn and faded, but still easily recognizable as the uniform of a resident of 106. A pipe dangled from one hand and the face above everything was blank and empty of any kind of intelligence. _He's completely crazy._ The man took another shuffling step forward, eyes lighting at the sight of the intruder. He raised his weapon and charged at Lee. Still in a state of hyper-aware terror, Lee dodged the chunk of metal whistling toward his face and grabbed the man's wrist. Twisting as he grabbed, the man let out a squawk and dropped the pipe. Lee spun him around and aimed one solid punch right at the man's chin. He staggered and tumbled backwards onto the floor, eyes rolling back and closing. Panting, Lee looked at him lying there. A blink, and the blue haze was back _. It's Butch_. Leather jacket and greased hair, sneering lips. _Why is... no. No, it's not._ He shook his head and pinched his arm. _This isn't real. It isn't possible at all._ Lee grabbed Butch/the crazy guy's leg and dragged him into a nearby room. _I'm hallucinating._ Tears were slowly leaking out of Lee's eyes. _This place is fucked up, we need to get out_ right now _._ He left the room and switched the door override to off, effectively locking it.

He set off again to look for Charon, quietly this time and now _really_ paranoid about what could be sneaking up behind him. The halls stretched out endlessly, lined with rooms that appeared to be personal living spaces. _Probably the best place for more vault people to be. Ugh._ But this was also the most likely direction Charon had gone. Lee strained his ears for any sort of noise. He could hear a faint hissing of air from a vent overhead... was that a faint moan? The voice was deep enough to be Charon, but Lee stayed cautious. _No more crazies running around corners please._ There was an open door, among all the closed ones. Lee stepped as silently as he could, carefully placing his feet, and peeked around the doorframe.

_Oh, god._

The vault was a mess in general, but this tiny chamber had been absolutely wrecked. Every piece of furniture had been dented and overturned, and the rusted walls were soaked with what looked like blood. Crazy splashes and drips were everywhere, and there was the source: the mangled bodies of three unlucky vault 106ers. It looked like someone had grabbed them by the arms or legs and flung them around the room, ending the trip with a shotgun blast to the head or gut. The moan again. A shaky breath. Lee looked around, a horrified look on his face. Slumped in the corner was Charon. Face and torso spattered with blood, eyes closed, gun kicked away. He was shivering, arms wrapped around his legs.

"Charon," Lee whispered, afraid, but still walking toward the ghoul collapsed in the corner. No response. No suggestion that he'd heard. He kneeled and put out a hand, reaching for Charon's shoulder.

As soon as his fingers brushed the leather pauldron, Charon's body jerked to life and his eyes shot open. His hand, tacky with blood that had dried there, reached out and closed around Lee's neck. Lee looked into Charon's face. There was no recognition, just fury. Charon stood, dragging Lee up with him, and started to squeeze as his lips twisted back in a sneer of rage and effort. Lee grabbed the ghoul's forearm and weakly scrabbled at it; the world starting to darken and swim.

"Let go... the fuck're you doing?" he wheezed out. Nothing. No answer. No change in expression. Lee's vision had narrowed down to a point. _I don't know what he's seeing right now but he's going to kill me. Shit. Last hope._ He summoned all his remaining strength and hoarsely shouted:

"Charon! This is an order! STOP!"

The hand stilled... relaxed. Dropped away. Some kind of awareness came back to his eyes. Lee staggered away, gingerly rubbing his throat and retching.

"The doctors..." Charon's voice. It was him, but he sounded far away. Lee shivered at the unnatural quality of his words. _Like he's talking in his sleep._ He was standing, looking at the broken bodies crumpled on the floor. "I killed them. Before they could... could." He shook his head. "No. You..." he raised his eyes to Lee. "You ordered me. This isn't the lab. The commonwealth. Where am I? We. Where are we?"

"This is a vault, Charon. We need to leave. Something in here is making us see things."

Charon shook his head, trying to clear it. "Everything is blue. And you..." His eyes darkened again, eyes narrowing to slits. "You're one of them." He turned his head to look at his gun on the floor, next to Lee's foot.

_Christ, he almost came back._ Without stopping to think, Lee nudged his toe under the gun stock and flipped it up, neatly catching it in one hand, and then turned and bolted for the door. _One more race for my life. It's this place that's making us crazy, need to get out._ Charon roared wordlessly behind him as they sprinted up the hallway. The gun was heavy and cumbersome to hold, but his familiarity with vault structure and relative clear-headedness let Lee take a small lead, dodging obstacles and bounding up the stairs in twos. They passed a large wall vent and the world popped blue again. Lee looked ahead. It looked like a group of vault security, faces twisted with anger and brandishing pistols at him. Lee winced, hoping there wasn't a real life analogue behind these visions. He ran straight at them... and passed through with no resistance. _Phew._

_This is it, the stairwell to the entrance._ A stitch had sunk into his side, burning and turning his breath ragged. _So close._ He glanced backwards over his shoulder to see Charon, still looking quite insane, eyes glowing like lamps. _Fuck. Just get out to the cave. If I have to knock him out I could try, but I don't want to. He'll probably break me in half anyway. Shit. Go go go!_

He leapt over the grooved threshold of the vault door, dodging the opening mechanism and continuing up the dirt slope. Fresh air swept in from the still-open door, damp and cool from the earlier rain. Lee stopped at the door, letting the borrowed gun drop onto the dirt and pulling his own from his back and into his shaking arms. _This is it._ He turned around.

Charon had stopped running back near the blast door. He stood, shoulders hunched and arms dangling, backlit by the glow of emergency lights in the vault behind him. He looked up at Lee staring back at him at the other end of the cave, and sank down to his knees, head drooping forward.

_We're out. He looks... I dunno how he looks._ Lee walked back and stood in front of Charon, looking at his slumped shoulders and the sparse locks of red hair falling forward over his bowed head. Charon sat back and raised his head. He was himself again, Lee could see with relief. The distant stare was gone, and the face had relaxed back into its normal expression instead of the rabid insanity that had been there only minutes ago.

"Charon?"

"Lee." His voice was huskier than usual, and sounded choked. "I'm sorry."

Lee dropped down in front of Charon and grabbed him in an embrace. Charon stayed unresponsive for a moment, and then returned the gesture; hands drifting upwards and clinging weakly to Lee's back. Blood from his hands left a rust-colored trail on Lee's shirt. They stayed there for a while, letting the adrenaline fade and thoughts collect themselves.

Lee was first to break the silence. He leaned back on his heels. "What did you see in there?" he asked, not really wanting to hear what would cause him to rip three people apart, but still curious _. I saw people from my past, he must've also. But I've never been through anything_ really _bad... he..._

Charon's face paled. His eyes shut and he shook his head. "The laboratory where the mind control experiments were being done. The people running it. I don't know if I want to remember it again." He ran a hand over his forehead, sweeping his hair away then wiping distractedly at the splashes of blood on his cheek. "Whatever I saw, there was no excuse for attacking you. I violated my contract. You may terminate me, if you wish."

Lee goggled at him. "What? No! It's okay. Neck's a little sore but I'll get over it. Charon, it's fine. You're... really great and I don't want to fire you." He took one of Charon's hands. "Okay? You weren't yourself."

Eventually, Charon nodded. "If that's what you wish." He reached up with the unoccupied hand and touched the rising bruises around Lee's neck; red finger-shaped patches were lined up on the side of his neck and spread toward the ear. "That looks like it hurts."

Lee coughed and smiled. "Yeah, you've got a hell of a grip." He squeezed the hand and stood up, pulling Charon with him. "I drag us into a fucked up hallucination vault because I'm curious and my bodyguard nearly strangles me for it." Charon barked out a laugh. "Let's go, no more of this shitty place. Why can't we find a cave full of soda and holotapes instead, huh?"

Charon raised the hand he was still holding and gently brushed his lips over the knuckles. _The first contract owner I've had in decades that I don't despise and I get drugged and nearly kill him. But he's fine with it. Joking about it. He must be an idiot or... well._ He grinned and nudged Lee with his shoulder as they walked back out.

"Don't throw my gun on the floor, you waster. That thing's worth more than you are."

Lee grinned and snatched the shotgun on his way out into the gloom, racing away with it held high over his head, laughing like a loon. Charon sighed and chased after him.


	19. Deathclaw Den

"You know, this probably wasn't the best idea," Charon's voice was a hoarse whisper directly behind Lee's shoulder.

The sight that greeted them as they entered the cave's main chamber was enough to render Lee temporarily speechless. He reached back shakily with a hand to press Charon into slowly retreating the way they'd come. They stood at the mouth of a tunnel that debouched into a wide flat area littered with rough, egg-shaped masses, overseen by a single deathclaw at the far end. Though unexpected, the inhabitants weren't really surprising. What was, was the sheer size of the monster at the other end of the room. Its scaly skin was striped with a dark pattern, the horns twisted elaborately, and the muscles on its hulking body bulged disproportionately. They silently backed out and rounded the corner, hiding the nest from view. Lee closed his eyes and leaned his head against the rock wall. Of all the luck...

"I don't wanna hear it," he answered weakly. "Those things are gonna give me a heart attack." He swallowed and peeked around the corner. "Let's go back the way we came. Sleeping outside isn't so bad, right?"

With a short nod from Charon they trailed back up the long slanting tunnel, considerably more quietly than their trek in. Lee's heart pounded in his ears and a cold sweat was now drying on his forehead. The gloom in the cave limited sight considerably and he strained his eyes for any sign of movement ahead. The entrance was still far off when they heard the sound of guttural panting and the scrape of dirt right in their path and getting closer.

Another extremely large deathclaw emerged from the dark tunnel in front of them. It filled the passage, completely blocking any chance of dodging around it. Not that one would try dodging such a massive reach anyway. Lee skidded to a halt, eyes darting around looking for an escape. The only way was back, and the only place to go besides the nesting chamber was a small but deep crevice in the cave wall, hopefully too small for the monster to pursue. The deathclaw swiped a hand out and Lee had to scramble and jump out of the way to avoid being disemboweled. He felt the wind from the swing brush his hair back. Too close. And too close in here to fight back. Trying to maneuver in such close quarters with his rifle would be impossible, besides which, the noise from a gunshot would bring the whole nest down on top of them.

"Get in that crack in the wall," Charon said over his shoulder, trying to keep his voice low. He kept an eye on the monster glaring balefully at them, watching for any kind of movement from it. It appeared to be sizing them up, assessing the threat and waiting for the best chance to strike. Ugh, are they that intelligent? Lee backed up quickly, groping backwards for the curvature of the wall and the cleft that would hopefully keep them out of the thing's reach. It made a sudden lunging swipe after Charon, seeing that the prey meant to flee. Charon dodged the blow easily, dancing back and whipping his body out of the way of the sharp talons. Seeing a gap in the deathclaw's defences as it missed, he cocked his arm back and looped his fist directly into the monster's temple. Its head jerked and the deathclaw let out a high fluting whine. It staggered back looking stunned, and collapsed sideways onto the ground with a thud. The ghoul whirled around and slid into the crevice after Lee. There was barely enough room and his shoulders scraped against rock, but the passage was several feet deep and provided decent enough protection against any questing deathclaw arms. He finally crammed up against Lee, who was for some reason, trying to stifle giant guffaws of laughter.

"Oh my god Charon, did you just punch that thing in the face?" he managed, wheezing from trying to whisper over his laughs.

Looking miffed, Charon drew his knife and checked the opening for anything approaching. "It worked, didn't it?" He felt Lee squeeze his arm.

"You made it cry!" He went off into another quiet gale of giggling, which finally tapered off. "I'm telling anyone who'll listen when we get back to Megaton." Charon finally cracked a smile at how amused Lee was. Stuck in a hole with no apparent way out, blocked by oversized deathclaws and that's all he can think of.

The present danger seemed to have passed; they hadn't been pursued by the deathclaw with the punched face, and no others had come to investigate the commotion. He could still hear their thumping footsteps, but there was no movement in the immediate area. "You'd think we'd learned our lesson about barging into strange caves," Charon mused pointedly into the damp air.

"Aw, don't gimme that. You live for this."

Charon sheathed his knife and tried to shift around for a more comfortable position. The wall pressed on his chest from the front and his shotgun dug into his back. He wasn't claustrophobic, but he was now acutely aware of the walls' crushing weight and solidity. "Well, we're stuck for now."

"Yeah, I guess we are. You think it's their bed time anytime soon?" he wondered aloud, turning his more narrow body to face Charon. He got an irked grunt as a reply. Lee examined Charon's position for a moment. He was wedged between the two walls and had to stoop to not knock his head on the ceiling. "Lemme see if this crack goes further or gets any bigger." He turned again and stretched an arm out to feel along the wall as he scooted along it. There was another ten feet of slightly widened space and then it narrowed to a dead end. No good.

As he took a step back he felt a lurching shift under his feet, like the ground had settled lower. "Uhhh..." he started, alarmed and trying to quickly shuffle back toward Charon. But the cave floor crumbled beneath him. He felt a horrible sense of vertigo as he lost his footing and tumbled back into the darkness, shouting in surprise. Charon snapped a hand out, but it closed on nothing. The fall had been too sudden. The yell was suddenly cut short and there was a brief silence followed by a dull thud.


	20. Underground

"Hey!"

Nothing.

"Are you okay?" Charon's voice was worried. The floor crumbled away to a large hole, but he couldn't see the bottom at all. He crouched as well as he could, knees binding up against the rock, and listened to the opening.

A weak groan floated up. "Some bodyguard, you asshole."

Charon grinned. The voice was pained, but jokes were a good sign. He also sounded very far down; no chance of hauling him back up.

"I'm docking that from your paycheck!"

Charon stuck his face over the edge of the pit, "You're paying me now?"

"Well, not after that!"

Charon huffed and called back, "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming down, watch out."

" _You_ watch out," was the reply. "There's a drop then it's like a ramp to the bottom. I rolled over and whanged my head on a rock."

Charon swung his legs over the edge of the hole and carefully dropped in. A jolt traveled up his legs when he hit the slanted mound of dirt, but he bent his knees and slid the rest of the way down. At the bottom he stumbled over some resistance and fell forward onto something soft.

"Hey, I was resting here." Lee mumbled from under him.

"Right. So how's your head?" Charon propped himself up and knelt over Lee to examine where he'd struck the rock. Lee tensed as Charon leaned closer and stretched out his hand, gently turning his head to the side. He brushed the shaggy hair back, examining the skin underneath. Lee had to suppress a shiver at the feather-light touch. "Mmm. You're bleeding here but it should be okay; looks like it's just a scratch."

Lee was pinned on either side by Charon's knees and felt the warmth of his skin as the ghoul leaned in closer. The side of his hand wiped away the slow trickle of blood from Lee's forehead and his lips barely grazed Lee's in a teasing kiss. As always, Lee's skin felt like it caught aflame at the gentle contact.

Lee let his hands drift up Charon's heavily muscled forearms. "Uh huh. Is that your professional medical opinion?"

Charon snorted. "My professional medical opinion is that your hard head needs a good collision more often."

Lee pursed his lips, faking offense. "Alright, that's it, no more vacation days." He clamped his hands down on Charon's arms and wedged a leg between their bodies. With a massive heave, he flipped the ghoul back over his head, where he landed with a thump. After a stunned pause Charon burst into gravelly laughter.

With a grunt, Lee flopped his arms and leg back into the dirt, "Fuck, you're heavy." He stretched over and pecked Charon on the forehead before rolling himself upright. He looked around at the cavern they'd fallen into; eyes wide open but still not seeing much in the darkness. More cheerfully, he continued, "So! Tell me how much trouble we're in."

Charon lunged up into a sitting position and brushed any dirt off the back of his head. He looked out and focused on their surroundings, immediately spotting a problem. "Oh. This is gonna be fun." The sunken dirt floor was peppered with metal drums emblazoned with very familiar black and yellow symbols. "For me. Not for you. _You're_ in trouble."

Lee rolled his eyes, "What now?"

"Looks like this was an old toxic waste dump."

Lee frowned. "Of course it was," he answered. "Well, I guess that explains the enormous deathclaws up there. Crap." He pulled off his pack and held an ear up to it, listening for the tell-tale click of the Geiger counter inside. Silence. "Safe enough over here though, no rads." They'd originally entered the cave looking for a place to rest for the night, and it had been a considerable length of time since then. With a huge yawn he scooted back up against the pile of dirt behind them. "Lemme rest a few hours and we can traipse through the gunk when I wake up," he said wearily. "Does radiation feel different to a ghoul?"

Charon leaned back beside him, trying to shuffle around for a bit of dirt with no rocks. "I don't know, what does it feel like for you?"

Lee grimaced, "Uhh. Sharp stomach pains and nausea. Headache... dizziness. Stay in it for too long and your skin starts to blister and everything feels kind of... I dunno. Loose. That's the worst I've ever gotten through, and a low dose is bad enough."

"Lucky me then. Feels kind of warm and tingly to ghouls. At least as far as radiation goes, I think we've got you beat."

"I'll say." Lee crossed his arms behind his head for a pillow and closed his eyes. "I dunno what feels worse, radiation poisoning or a rad-away purge..." Another jaw-cracking yawn. "Well, relax, get a few hours of sleep then we can go... get sick and tingly," his voice slurred and quieted as he spoke and he nodded off.

Charon glanced down at him and then looked back at the long stretch of barrels, as he settled into place. The cave was gloomy, but not pitch black. Dim rays of light fell from cracks in the high ceiling and bioluminescent fungi grew near the containers. It was actually kind of nice. The two of them had been hiking northwards, and this had been the first available shelter when Lee finally proclaimed he needed a place to sleep or he'd have to just drop in the dirt. Thinking back, that may have been the wiser choice, but it was a gamble with anything out here. Even human settlements had about a fifty-fifty chance of welcoming you or shooting you. Whether out of malicious intent or accident was up for grabs.

He pulled the shotgun off his back for a more comfortable seat and ran a rough hand over the well-worn wooden stock. The rest of his few possessions had long since been lost to time, but he still had this one relic. The butt plate and trigger guard gleamed mellowly in the dim light and Charon absently flicked away an errant piece of dirt from the ammo drum. Beside him, Lee was breathing slow and deep, finally getting the rest he needed. He reached a hand over and brushed a tangled clump of hair out of his face. Though Charon had had to take shelter and rest in strange places before: sewers, old buses, under bridges, and once in an ancient crashed vertibird... never a populated deathclaw den. Or the irradiated basement thereof. But the sound of Lee's breathing was relaxing and this subterranean area was safe enough for a quick nap. He folded his arms and closed his eyes.


	21. Do Ghouls Dream of Steel Claymores?

And opened them on a blindingly green forest. Sunlight fell through a thick canopy of leaves, dappling the grassy ground. Living most of his life in the wastes and being mostly a city boy while human, the amount of greenery and life was overwhelming. A long mountain range could be seen through where the trees thinned, and a broad valley swept out under the long hill he was on. Charon put a hand to his chest, feeling the familiar leather of his armor, though it felt different; more ornate. There was a weight on his back, but it felt considerably heavier than his shotgun. He reached over his shoulder and drew a massive silver-colored sword from a scabbard slung over his chest and hung on his back. Rays of sun slid off the shiny surface as he hefted the weapon and swung it experimentally. Not what he was used to, but the wickedly sharp blade and destructive weight called to him nonetheless.

Charon turned and looked around him. With a shock, he saw there was a person waiting beside him crouched on a boulder. He looked up at Charon and grinned impishly. It was Lee. The thin, warily friendly face was the same, shaggy black hair falling over his tall forehead. His t-shirt and chinos had changed to some intricately embroidered heavy canvas armor, and instead of his sniper rifle he held a carved wooden bow. His long fingers held an arrow nocked to the string. He tilted his eyes up at Charon and jerked his head to the front as if to say _c'mon let's get a move on_. He slunk down from the rock and glided forward, making no noise as he stepped over the leaf-covered ground. _We must be hunting something_ , Charon thought. He propped his sword over his shoulder and trailed the strange Lee through the forest. _I'm dreaming_ , he thought vaguely as he watched hazy trees, streams, and butterflies flow by them. He tried to speak, but no words would come. Charon mentally shrugged and moved closer to dream Lee, enjoying the verdant scenery and occasional glimpse of the alien wildlife.

After a time, Lee came to a halt, turning back to fix Charon with a worried look. The forest had grown dark around them, color draining out of the world, and all was silent. Lee drew the bowstring taut and kept moving forward. Feeling anxious, Charon unshouldered the claymore and followed, watching for whatever was causing the fearful atmosphere.

A rolling cloud of smoke emerged from the thick grove of trees ahead, surging over the ground towards them. It touched Lee and his body immediately stiffened and fell forward into the smoky mass. Charon tried to lunge forward, to reach his arms out, but he had been frozen. His body wouldn't obey him, and Lee was covered by the smoke. He tried again to make a sound, to scream out, but his throat made no noise. The dark fog rolled back and slithered back into the woods, leaving nothing behind it. Lee was gone.

Charon desperately willed his body to move, to reach out with his arms or to move his legs to walk. He began to regain control, but he felt like he was moving in slow motion. Every attempt at action required massive amounts of willpower and effort. Frustrated and furious, he opened his mouth again to make some kind of noise. Anything to break the crushing silence. And this time a piercing howl erupted and the world snapped into blackness.

 


	22. A Way Out

Charon jerked awake, heart pounding and breath rasping uncomfortably. Lee still slept beside him, arms flung out and snoring quietly. The ghoul rested a burning hot hand on Lee's leg and closed his eyes again, getting his breathing back under control. It wasn't _the_ nightmare, but this one had turned bad enough pretty fast. Above even the thought of losing a friend was the deep-seated imperative of not allowing harm to come to a contract owner. As he thought it over, he discovered he had no idea what would happen if the person holding his contract vanished or died. He'd never failed so badly at his job for that to happen. He stared blankly at the slanting light coming from the ceiling. _Would I die? Would I be free? Would I be subconsciously called back north?_ He grimaced and tried to put it out of his mind, waiting restlessly until Lee finished his sleep.

He woke some time later, stretching and wincing at his cramped back and legs. He rolled over and oriented on Charon again, "I'll never get used to sleeping on the ground." Lee placed his hands at the small of his back and stretched. "You get any rest?"

"Yeah, enough." Charon decided against telling him about the dream. It felt like bad luck to talk about stuff like that in a place like this. He also didn’t really want to think about it again. "Come on, ready to go?"

"In a manner of speaking, yeah, I guess so." Lee eyed the visible barrels with obvious distaste. "Do you even know if there's a way out back there?"

"Not for sure. But I see a tunnel on the far side that slants up; that's promising. And if there's a dump here there had to be some kind of surface access."

"Yeah, you’re right." Lee rolled his shoulders and shook out his arms as they rose to their feet. "Well, I'll follow you. Let's move."

Charon stepped forward and broke into a slow jog. Almost immediately he felt a crawling sensation run over his skin, and he could hear the muffled ticking of Lee's Geiger counter start up. Picking up the pace he glanced behind him and called, "Doin' ok?"

Lee's face was scrunched in discomfort but he was matching Charon's speed. He flapped a hand at the ghoul to keep going. He could feel an ache in his stomach, and was starting to get a little lightheaded. They passed through the thickest concentration of the metal drums and the clicking of the counter sped up, becoming a loud burring noise. Lee felt a light tickle on his lip and swiped a hand across his mouth. A thin smear of blood. "Ohh yeah, that's not good." Dizziness swooped over him and he made a huge effort not to stumble. They made it to the far end, well past the last rusted container and out of range of the poisonous area. Lee skidded to a halt and bent over double next to the rock wall. Breathing heavily he stared at the floor, willing himself not to puke. The feeling would fade in a few minutes, but for now he felt like hell. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair and waved Charon away when he approached. "M'alright just gimme a sec."

His pounding heart calmed, and the riot in his abdomen retreated to an acceptable level. Straightening back up he led the way toward the tunnel, grumbling "Why would anyone leave that shit around..."

Charon grunted in agreement and followed him up the winding path. Radiation felt good to him now, but without it in the first place, he'd still have his skin and hair. And the world wouldn't be the hideous mess it was. "Suppose we didn't know just how bad it could get."

"That's no excuse" Lee snarled.

"No, it's not."

They'd been advancing up a twisting, but steady incline for around fifteen minutes. Right as Lee was about to make a polite and well-thought out remark on the lack of exits, they approached a chainlink door in the wall with rotted wooden strips woven through it. He ran for it, but stepped back with a sour look after the first experimental push. A heavy padlock clunked against the other side of the doorframe. Lee sighed and turned back to Charon. "I can probably fit my hands through there and get this but it's gonna take a while and a lot of pins. That looks like a good one and I’ll have to do it backwards and at this stupid angle."

Charon stood back and examined the door and how the frame was set into the wall. Fresh air blew in through the many holes in the door and from around the edges. _Hmm..._ Lee had drawn out his bobby pins and moved to kneel by the lock when Charon touched his shoulder. "Let me try first."

Lee raised an eyebrow but stepped away, watching to see what the ghoul was up to. Charon glanced at the door and stepped back, squaring up with it. He nodded and shuffled forward a step, planting his left foot down and then rearing back and in a smooth motion driving his right directly into the edge of the door. The old hinges gave way with a rusty squall and the door slammed back, scraping against the ground. The latch had snapped off and the whole thing was dangling by the hasp of the padlock, apparently made of stronger stuff than the rest of the thing. The doorway opened on another tunnel, but cool air from outside was blowing down and the glow from the sun outside could be faintly seen. Charon looked behind him to see Lee biting his lip and staring at him with a funny look.

"You are so hot when you're all forceful like that."

With a small laugh, he turned and stalked back to where Lee was standing against the wall; his height and size especially intimidating in these close quarters. Lee subconsciously moved back a pace from the advancing ghoul. His back hit the wall and he stopped with nowhere else to go. Charon stepped into him, one hand against the wall, and the other snaking its way up to twist into the hair on the back of Lee's head. The heat from the ghoul's body engulfed Lee as he leaned in to whisper against his jaw, "Yeah? Well since I saved us some time, what do you want to do with it?"

Chills ran over Lee's skin as Charon's breath tickled his neck and the deep bass of his voice rumbled against him. He smiled and pulled Charon around to reverse their positions. It was difficult to loom over Charon, but he played along and slouched well enough, letting Lee crush up against him. The buckles on Charon's armor were quickly undone; the leather jacket hanging open and shoulder plates dropping to the floor. Lee rucked up Charon's shirt to expose the marbled expanse of chest and bulging abdominals. His hands slid over the musculature of his chest, drifting around to drag down his back, and back around to his stomach, stopping against the leather belt holding Charon's pants up. He smirked and gave it a tug before unbuckling it and leaning against Charon again, hands on shoulders and kissing him roughly. He slid down Charon's body, kissing and biting as he went. The ghoul sagged against the wall, snatching in a breath at each sharp nip on his skin. Lee sank to his knees and lightly dragged his fingers over the cock straining against the thin material of Charon's pants. The muscles of his stomach and thighs jumped and trembled as the soft material was slowly pulled down over his hips until it bunched against his armor.

Charon exhaled and pressed his fingers into the wall behind him, body tensing in anticipation of whatever the next touch would be. He tried unsuccessfully to hold in a moan as he was engulfed by a hot wetness. Lee's tongue flicked and swirled against him, and he gave up trying to control his hands. His short nails dug into Lee's scalp, hips thrust forward and head thrown back, feeling hot waves travel down his body as Lee slowly sucked him in and dragged out. The steady pressure and long lingering suction drew a deep, feral growl from him. It was probable he'd experienced this before, but definitely not after turning, and he couldn't remember feeling something like _this_. He wasn't able to hold out for very long against the constant pull of swirling tongue and pressing lips, and felt a hot tingling rush as he came with a gasping expletive that trailed away weakly. His knees unlocked and he slumped to the ground in front of Lee, who had turned to somewhat discreetly spit over his shoulder.

Head leaned back against the wall Charon mumbled, "Call me if you ever need another door kicked in." He smiled blissfully and stretched his arms back, still naked to the waist as Lee laughed, rolled his eyes, and stood back up. He stared at Charon's on-display and half-naked torso for a moment before extending a hand to him and hauling him back up, looking a little wistful as Charon pulled his shirt back down.

Lee shook his head and bumped a shoulder into the ghoul's arm. "Okay, now. Are you finally ready to get out of here?"

He was.


	23. Under the Stars

It was late afternoon when they left the cave; the sky cloudy and a cool breeze kicking the dirt into small puffs. Their travels had taken them pretty far north into the wooded upstate part of the region and there was nothing around but dirt, birds, and the blackened trunks of trees ruined by the long ago rainout.

Despite the sore spot on his head, Lee was feeling pretty cheerful about being outside again. He tried unsuccessfully to whistle a song as they walked, but after a few grunts that sounded suspiciously like laughter from Charon, he gave up his breathy, tuneless efforts and set to snacking on some overly-sugary cereal. It was a long way back home, but the weather was nice and there wasn't a raider in sight. Not exactly a place of beautiful nature, but compared to the twisted wreck of downtown D.C. it was quite pleasant. Lee stuck his box out to Charon, "Want some?"

The ghoul raised an eyebrow and looked like he was about to decline, then shrugged and grabbed a handful. A few moments later there was a quiet grumbling "Might as well just eat a box of sugar." They ate as they walked, passing it back and forth. The sun was setting on their right, gradually transforming their shadows into straggly stick men. Scavenger birds wheeled overhead cawing rustily, and crickets were starting to give experimental creaks and chirps. "Let's just make camp aboveground this time, what do you think?" Charon asked, keeping his face perfectly neutral.

He got a sock in the arm for a response, and Lee had to twist out of the way as Charon made a grab at him. "Hey, if you don't wanna sleep next to some nice deathclaws, then be my guest. My plan was coming together perfectly until you slugged our bunkmate in the face." Charon nonchalantly drifted nearer to where Lee had jumped away and was walking apart. Charon sped up to match him and Lee's eyes widened as he turned and noticed the gap between them had narrowed abruptly, "Aw, shi-"

Lee broke into a run, sprinting over the uneven ground. Hoarse laughter and the sound of Charon's thudding boots followed close after. He dodged around a rock and slid down a tiny hill, leaving double plumes of dust behind him. A rocky plain stretched out in front of them, boulders and slabs of stone dotted the dirt. They were halfway across the stretch of dirt and Charon still hadn't given up. Lee snapped a glance backward just in time to see Charon make an evil grin and coil his body in preparation for a leap. He yelled, "Damnit, Char-aagh!" as he was caught around the waist and tackled to the ground. He could hear Charon laughing from somewhere around his knees as he tried to get loose from the dusty tangle they were in.

"Hmm, you found a good campsite," Charon said, finally releasing him and sitting up, seeming to ignore the fact he'd just dragged them both through the dirt.

Lee frowned and rolled his eyes, looking around to see where they'd fetched up. Beside them, three boulders leaned together to form a kind of half-shelter. Not bad. They both dusted themselves off and scrounged around for anything that could be used for a fire. The wooded area around them was full of deadwood and Lee ripped up an old magazine for the kindling. Before long, the fire was a small blaze on the darkening plain, throwing every small rock and bump on the ground into sharp relief. They sat with their backs to the rocks, faces painted a shifting yellow and orange from the firelight. Lee tilted his head up to watch the emerging stars, face cool in the absence of the flame.

"Beautiful... the stars," he added as Charon turned to look at him. Though still dim, the tiny pinpricks of light were easier to see out here in the more wild area. Lee swiveled around and lay on his back a ways from the fire to see them more easily. "And they're so, so far away," he continued, his voice quiet.

After a moment, Charon joined him on the ground, stretching out next to him and crossing his arms behind his head. They lay in silence for a long while, watching the last bits of light fade to velvety blackness and listening to the fire crackle behind them. The stars twinkled and shimmered through the thick wasteland atmosphere, making the sky look as if it were in constant ebb and flow.

Barely audible, Charon asked, "What do you miss the most about your vault?"

Lee froze in surprise. _He sure has a way of knowing what I'm thinking._ He relaxed again with a soft hmph. There were good memories but it hurt a little to think about it. Hurt to think of the safe haven and all the people he would never see again. He couldn't go back but... by now would he even want to? He wasn't the same person he'd been when he left them a year ago, not by a lot; it might be almost blasphemous, if he could somehow go home again.

No...

_No, it's not home anymore. I belong out here now._ He smiled a little. "Besides the people... this is gonna sound weird. The thing that comes to mind is bread."

Charon gave a short laugh, "Bread?"

"Yeah, there was a lady... she was actually my, uh, I guess my best friend's grandma. Old Lady Palmer. She would bake every few weeks. Us kids liked her desserts the best... cakes, sweetrolls, pies... but I think I miss her bread days the most. The uppers of the vault would be warm and smelled like yeast and flour. Go see her and ask politely and she'd happily give you a slice, a pat on the head and she'd smile and say 'There you go honey. Now go play while you're young, and be good.'" Lee sighed. "That's what I miss."

Charon reached a hand back and gave Lee's shoulder a brief squeeze. A thin, fingernail moon had risen over the horizon and poked out just above the treetops. Charon watched the barely perceptible movement as it glided higher, clearing the trees and shrinking back to normal size as it rose.

"I..." Charon started, then paused, reconsidering. Lee turned his head toward him a little, but kept quiet; letting him talk if he wanted to. Charon's forehead wrinkled down in concentration, "I don't know for sure if it's something I can miss... but I have a memory. Of a woman. She's older, and standing in a sunlit kitchen wearing a shabby dress and an apron. She has a sad, but kind-looking smile, and her hair is sandy red... like mine." He closed his eyes, looking for what he could remember in the dark. "I think she's my mother... but I don't know. It could just be something my mind made up over the years, but it feels real. It's like a dream, thinking of her. I feel... love. But also shame. Like I did something to hurt her or make her sad." He opened his eyes again and fell quiet. There was silence again for a long time.

"I didn't know my mother, but I guess she's why I'm out here. Her and my dad were scientists working on a way to purify water on a grand scale. My dad left the vault to keep after it, and I chased after him. She sounded like a wonderful person... I can't really miss her but I'm sorry we never met."

After a time, Charon said in an undertone, "I hope the lost have found a place of rest."

"Mmm," Lee murmured, deep in thought.

A cloud drifted over the moon, momentarily darkening the world and a breeze followed after, soughing across the rocky plain.

"Let's get some sleep."

"Yeah."


	24. A Letter

They made it back to Megaton after two more days of traveling. Necks sunburned and clothes inundated with wasteland dust, the sight of the huge metal gate was a welcome one. The city was the same as always: leaning metal buildings, haphazardly placed iron walkways, and the small bustle of people talking and trading. The two headed back to the house on the upper level, but Lee stopped short when he saw a white envelope jammed into the doorframe.

"Huh." He pulled it free and took out the single sheet of paper, immediately recognizing the looping, scribbly handwriting of his father. Unconsciously calling up the mild, softly accented voice in his mind, he read it aloud:

_Hello son,_

_I hope this gets to you in a timely manner. Everyone at project purity has been hard at work since you helped us reclaim our facility, and our research has had a huge break. I feel a little embarrassed to ask you this, but I need your help with fixing and setting up some of the machines and wiring around here. My people here are incredibly smart, but frankly, they don't have the strength or flexibility you do, and I wouldn't trust anyone else around this delicate equipment. It would also be nice to see you again since we parted rather quickly last time (I'm sorry). There's no rush, but I hope to see you soon._

_Love,_

_Dad_

"Huh," he said again, flipping the paper around to check the back, then folding it and placing it in his pocket. "Wanna head back out to the Jefferson Memorial? Sounds important."

"If they feed us something that doesn't come powdered out of a box, sounds like a plan," Charon agreed.

Later that night, the two of them sat on Lee's roof and watched the town below them. It was nearly as bright as daytime with the glow from the strings of lights crisscrossing the square and the multitude of neon signs hung on the walls. Charon was nursing a bottle of beer, and Lee had a soda. After a wry smile from Charon when grabbing their drinks from the fridge, Lee had said, "Hey, I learned my lesson about trying to drink with you, thanks." They'd brought a couple of cushions out, and the two sat there, drinks in hand and watched Megaton wind down for another night.

"It'll be... good to see him again," Lee said, voice trailing off a little.

"You don't sound too sure," Charon remarked, stretching out and resting his bottle on his stomach.

"Oh. No. I dunno." Lee frowned, staring at the far-off glow of the door to the bar. "He's just always been kind of distant. Scientist first, father second. I love him but he makes it hard sometimes." He squeezed his eyes shut and tilted his head back, re-opening them on the orange-tinged sky and ghostly-pale stars above. "I dunno. I like talking to him and the project he's on now... if he can make it work it'll be amazing. So, yeah. Let's go for it." Smiling, he reached over and gave Charon's arm a backhanded slap. "We'll be part of history if they can get that crap running."

Charon huffed and drank off the rest of his beer, "When do you want to go?"

Lee plucked at his lip and then shook his head and scratched his hair back. There was no way of knowing when the letter had been sent; James hadn't dated it and the message runners didn't do that anymore after supposed privacy complaints. He sighed, "Let's take a day to rest up, and then we're heading south."


	25. Late Payback

As they tramped south east, Lee wondered what his father had been up to for the past three months. And what could the 'huge break' in the research be? If they just needed some machines fixed up and turned on, maybe the project was closer to completion than he'd thought. He looked out across the stretch of land they were traversing; the fallen, broken sections of highway, the empty husks of old buildings, the dead and barren earth. Even with clean water and people helping, it would take a long, long time for the world to recycle itself back to any semblance of growth and liveliness. But what a help it would be anyways, to have clean water for crops and radiation-free drinking water.

They made their way past Wilhelm's Wharf and continued on down the road only to come up on a short bridge spanning a narrow part of the river. Before they could get closer, Charon put a hand out and pointed to the bridge itself. Lee looked closer and spotted a string of mines dotting the bridge's surface. They were scattered all the way across, and were spread too thickly to think about walking between them. The law of bridges being either inhabited by hostile beings or full of traps held true here.

"Well, this is easy, I just hope the entire bridge doesn't come down," Lee said as he pulled his rifle around to the front. He crouched and took aim at the closest mine, watching for the tiny red light blinking on the top. The echo of the report was drowned out in the rapid string of booming explosions that traveled in a wave across the bridge. A chunk of the railing was blown out into the water, but the rest of it stayed standing, and the two of them crossed the smoking road towards the squat building of the war memorial. They made it to the other side and climbed up the stairs to the flat patio overlooking the river. The long expanse of the water flowed around the cement embankments and the ruined structures along the shore leaned drunkenly. The wind tugged white ripples into the water and whined around the eaves of the memorial. Far in the distance was the big bridge that spanned the wide river. He made an ugly face thinking of the super mutant pair they'd come across last time they'd been in that area. If they were still hanging around, they wouldn't be much longer.

Charon's voice came from the far edge of the deck, "We've got company."

Lee turned away from the edge facing the river and joined Charon, looking down at the clittering monstrosities walking below them. "Oh. Mirelurks," he said miserably.

The 'lurks lumbered around the bank and the shallows of the tiny island, most likely drawn by the sound of the exploding landmines from the bridge. Their claws clacked together as they quested around almost blindly for the source of the disturbance.

"You wanna... go ahead and... yeah," Lee said, repulsed. Their segmented bodies, tiny evil looking faces, jerky movements, and that creepy noise they make. _Fuckin' no thanks._ Charon gave him a curious sidelong glance, but swung over the cement ridge and dropped to the ground to face them. Disgusting opponents, but it was always thrilling to watch Charon do what he did best.

The shotgun roared as it vaporized the limbs and heads of the mirelurks, and Charon reloaded without interrupting the constant motion. He flowed around their snapping claws, twisting away from their lumbering attacks and skipping back when they lunged. His lips pulled back in an ecstatic snarl, turning his face into something much more fearsome than usual. _Poetry in motion_ , Lee thought, watching the dance unfold below him. _Well, kind of gruesome poetry._ The ghoul swiped a handful of river mud into the eyes of one lurk and kicked a second onto its back so that he could concentrate on a third swimming up from the water. He spun and dodged, fired and kicked, and soon the ground was littered with the corpses of the lurks unfortunate enough to have investigated the noise. Charon stilled and the slightly mad look in his eyes faded as the feeling of blood lust receded. He re-shouldered his shotgun and looked back as Lee dropped from the memorial roof to join him again.

As always, he felt oddly cautious of Charon after seeing the displays of carnage he inflicted on the unlucky wasteland denizens. But so turned on. It was like watching a performance, if a little grisly. He was very aware of the heat creeping up his throat and into his cheeks and waved a hand at Charon, dismissing the questioning look on his face.

"Nothing, you showoff."

A small smile flitted over Charon's face before vanishing again. "As you say."

"Well, let's keep going," Lee continued, experimentally poking a mirelurk shell with his boot. It shifted and rolled back with a meaty thud. _Disgusting even when they're dead. Yeesh._

The Potomac River rushed by on their right as they walked along the bank, rocks plinking into the water as they kicked them aside. A cool breeze blew in, carrying the smell of the water and creating rills on the surface. The bridge loomed closer, and Lee had a sudden realization of where they were.

"Hey, hang on a sec," Lee beckoned at Charon to follow him after they'd climbed a short staircase. They approached a long empty street with a connector spanning two buildings at the far end. Lee hunched over and scrambled up against a low street railing, making way for Charon to crowd up next to him. He drew out his rifle and leaned it against the rail, pointing it at the connector.

"It's only been a few weeks since we were here last, maybe they're still... ah." The questing of the barrel stopped and Lee motioned Charon to take a look through the scope. The two super mutants were still keeping a lookout up on the connecting bridge; one with a missile launcher and the other with a smaller hunting rifle. They stomped back and forth, occasionally pausing and looking down the other way at the city or just clenching their fists and staring at the floor looking bored. Charon lifted his face and raised an eyebrow at Lee.

Playfully defensive, Lee said, "Yes, I'm still pissed at them. I didn't forget that awful haircut they tried to give me or this crappy attempt at eye surgery." He drew a finger along the curved pink scar on his cheek right below his eye. With a prankish smile he asked, "So whaddaya say. Wanna bump off those muties?"

"Alright," Charon said, leaning back out of the way.

Lee looked up at the mutants and back to Charon. "Wanna try it?" he asked, grinning and pushing the stock of the gun towards the ghoul.

He paused for a moment, but shrugged his shoulders and nodded. "I can't say I've ever really used one of these."

"Okay, here. You take it, and I will instruct." Lee shuffled over and shrugged his backpack off, laying it on top of the rail. "This'll be nice, we actually have time to set up and get a good shot instead of stuff screaming and running at us." He turned around and leaned his back against the rail so he could see what Charon was doing and to make sure nothing untoward approached them from behind. The ghoul was holding the rifle stock and waiting expectantly, pale eyes glinting in the fading light.

"That's what the shotgun's for."

Lee laughed and nodded. "Alright. Lay the barrel on top of my pack for support. Anything to balance against is good, but something soft is best." He closed his eyes, running through the motions of his routine in his mind as Charon followed his directions. "The most important thing is to relax. Find a comfortable position and breathe deep to calm yourself. Any excess motion throws off the shot, and your body is what you have to control the most."

Charon inched up next to the gun, bending a leg under him and pressing the other against his chest. The barrel of the gun rested on Lee's backpack, and the bottom of the stock sat on his raised knee.

"Watch your targets for a minute. Look to see if they have a pattern of where they like to pause when they're pacing. We're fairly close, so you won't have to compensate for distance. Just aim for head height, and observe them until you can kind of read when they're going to move and when they're going to be still."

The ghoul leaned in and set his eye against the scope, picking out the rocket launcher mutant in the glass lens. He stomped back and forth. Turned to his partner as he said something. Stomped again. Looked out over the railing. Charon watched for what felt like an eternity, but in reality was only a few minutes. Still focusing, he rumbled, "Got it."

Lee nodded. "Good. Get in and find your target, where his head would be when he pauses." He duckwalked around behind Charon and leaned over him, speaking quietly into his shoulder and making a tiny adjustment to where Charon was bracing the end of the gun. "It'll kick, but if your body and arms are loose like they should be, you'll absorb the recoil alright. Pull the trigger straight back with the ball of your finger so you don't jerk the gun sideways." Still behind Charon, Lee inspected the easy set up and shook off an unexpected surge of lust; seeing Charon using his rifle was oddly... appealing. His face creased in a frown of concentration, arms draped sinuously over the long gun, a slow pulse beating in his throat, lips hanging slightly open...

_Pfff. Right._ He examined the ghoul's stance again, nodded, and backed away, filing that for later. "When it's time, just take a breath, hold it, and squeeze."

Charon watched through the scope again, breathing easily and letting his body relax. His sight narrowed down to the crosshairs on the lens and the head of the super mutant. He waited. The two joined together, and Charon took his breath. Time seemed to spin out as the .308 flew through the air and found its mark. A large hole appeared in the mutant's head, and for a split second Charon could see a wink of daylight through it before blood filled the gap and the big ugly slumped out of sight. He released his breath and the world resumed around him: the second mutant was now scrambling over to his fallen comrade, and Lee was quietly whooping and thumping him on the back.

"Yes! Nice shot!"

Charon grinned reluctantly. It wasn't the flesh-shredding destruction and close-quarters killing of a shotgun, but there was a cold elegance to the sniper rifle. He leaned his head away as Lee gently head-butted him to the side, socking his eye up against the scope.

"Here, get his buddy while he's still confused." Lee could see the smaller mutant crouching over the fallen corpse, not yet standing up to search for the cause of his partner's death. Charon sighted in and waited for it to stand up. His finger squeezed the trigger as the thing rose to meet the rifle sights and it jerked and dropped with about as much fanfare as the first mutant.

"Perfect." Lee sounded extremely pleased. He practically skipped around as he packed up his gear and gun again. "So, how'd you like it?" Lee asked, patting the stock of his gun.

"It's different. But not bad."

Still smiling a little as they walked on, Lee peered up at him out of the corner of his eye. "Pfff, you thought it was awesome, I see it," he said, attempting to shove the ghoul playfully and failing to even budge Charon's solid weight. He only got a non-committal grunt as an answer.

"Aaaah, well that's a load off. C'mon, let's find a place to crash and we can go meet everyone in the morning."


	26. Next Door to Purity

A short time later, the two were sitting at the end of a short dock next to a rundown boat rental shack. They'd checked the building and gotten rid of the two occupants: a lone roach and a mannequin in the back of the room described by Charon as being "creepy as fuck". It was damp from the proximity to the river, but good enough for one sleepover.

Lee sat with his bare feet dangling in the water and Charon was beside him, legs crossed and large hands planted on the boards behind him. The bridge and landmasses sectioned the bit of the Tidal Basin in front of them into a kind of small lake, and the Jefferson Memorial perched on an island directly across from them. The dome of the rotunda sat atop the square building, and the intake and outflow pipes were still and silent as they usually were. The last time Lee visited, James had tested the inner machinery and gotten a small, sullen flow from the pipes, but had had to quickly shut down after an alarming clanking noise sounded from the guts of the purifier. Not put off in the least, James had turned the machine off and bustled off to find the malfunction. He wondered again how far along the reunited team had come and how close they were to turning things on for real. The dark bores of the outflow pipes stared back at him, empty for now.

Lee picked at the spongy boards of the dock and pried up a splinter of wood; bouncing it in his hand before flicking it into the water. They were so close to their destination, but he found he still didn't want to be there quite yet. He needed more time to work up to it. The sun was setting now, looking misty and ethereal behind the dense cloud cover in the sky. Lee's mind drifted as the reflections on the water dimmed turned darker.

"Charon... isn't your real name is it?"

"Hmm? Why do you say that?" Charon didn't sound at all surprised, but had a half-smile on his face as he continued watching the shifting tones of orange and blue ripple in the water.

Lee plucked another splinter from the dock and held it in front of his face, staring at the coarse grain. "It fits too well with Underworld. Like Cerberus, he had to have been named after arriving there. The Ninth Circle was named to fit with the Hell theme as well, and you being named for the ferryman of the souls of the dead is pretty convenient." He paused and lowered the shard of wood and glanced sideways at the ghoul. "Unless I'm off the mark and it is just a coincidence. A person's a little different from a robot or a shop."

Charon's smile broadened, "Took you a while, _Mouse_ , but you're right." Lee tsked at the admonishment but let him continue. "When Ahzrukhal... acquired me for the bar, I was ordered to respond to Charon. I'm still surprised that someone like that ever cared about mythology." He straightened up and stretched his legs out, letting them hang over the edge of the dock in a mirror of Lee. The sun was below the horizon now; shadows had crept in and the two were just dark shapes watching the moon rise. "So your next question is 'What's your real name?'." Lee turned to him, expectantly.

"And I don't know, it's just one of the things I've lost. I've had different names over the years, Charon's just the most recent." He shrugged and stared moodily over the lake. "It's as good as any other, better than some." He turned back to look at Lee, "Disappointed?"

"Mmm? No. Just makes you even more mysterious," he answered, winking with a smile.

Charon chuckled and they continued talking quietly, watching the dim lights across the lake from the memorial until Lee started to nod off. They set up a quick pile of bedding in the shack for Lee and Charon kept watch outside. He sat again at the edge of the dock, listening to the water lap at the shore and the wind sighing around him. He'd been to the memorial before, and had briefly seen the development of the ongoing project there. Previously just a curiosity, it now sounded like it'd been turned into something greater. Interest piqued, he wondered if tomorrow he'd see anyone he recognized. Legs crossed, and pale eyes unfocused but watchful, he relaxed into a slow meditative breath to wait for sunrise.


	27. Project Purity

The next day dawned bright and clear; the river threw flashes of sun into their eyes as Lee and Charon crossed the short access bridge to the memorial. What had been a brisk pace slowed to a leisurely meander as they approached the door. Noticing his pace slowing to a crawl, Lee discovered he was nervous of coming back. He couldn't think of why; he knew all the scientists there well enough and liked them, and his dad was just his dad. They came to a halt outside the door, and Lee stared at the doorknob, collecting his thoughts and psyching himself up to turn it and pull the door open. He laughed shakily, still facing the door, and raised his hand to grab the door handle before dropping it again.

Charon just folded his arms and grunted, "Get in there."

Lee sighed. "... Right."

Steeling himself, he opened the small door and went inside. The smell of dusty stone and water, and the buzzing of electricity brought a strong feeling of nostalgia for Lee. He hadn't stayed long during the whole reclamation process of the building, but it had felt like a place he'd always known. The hall was dim and cool, and Lee looked again at the high ceilings and the carved moldings on the walls as they walked down the hall and turned to the main section of the building. Cables and wires snaked across the floor and a myriad of odd machines blinked and whirred around the walls. The sheer amount of tech they'd crammed in was mind-boggling.

"Hey!"

Lee looked up to see two older ladies in lab coats running at him from the other side of the room. He grinned as he recognized Anna and Janice, the two top doctors under Dr. Li. They made it over to him and each grabbed one of his shoulders in a funny half-hug and Janice gave him a smacking kiss on the ear. Even though they were both only about ten years older than Lee himself, since they'd met back in the Rivet City lab and learned whose kid he was, they always treated him a bit like a little brother. Lee squeezed them back and laughed, asking how they were doing and quickly introducing them to Charon to cut down on them openly goggling at him. They small-talked a bit, the two ladies continually sneaking quick glances at the huge ghoul waiting impassively at the doorway, and gushing over how fast the work had been sprinting along.

"You should really go see your dad," Janice said, "He's down in the lower level working on the turbines."

"Right, I will." Lee poofed his hair back, and affected a snooty, cultured voice as best he could. "And you ladies had better get back to work, hadn't you?"

Anna snorted, "Is that supposed to be Dr. Li?" She looked around, as if expecting her to pop out of the closest pile of filters. "Don't you let her hear you or she'll wither you with that look she has."

The two went back to their stations, giggling, and Lee turned back to Charon.

Charon raised his eyebrow and the corner of his mouth twitched up, "Energetic."

"Yeah, they seem really excited." He patted his hair back down and fetched a melodramatic sigh. "Time to go see dad, I guess." The thought wasn't as terrifying as it had been when standing outside. James had called him here to help out a little and that was it. No problem.

"If you don't mind, I'll stay up here. Think you should go see him alone this time, don't wanna get in the way of the reunion."

Lee shrugged, "If you say so. Don't let those two bully you, okay?"

Charon rolled his eyes and found an empty space on the wall to stand by as Lee left the room and headed downstairs. Glancing back before he went through the door, he was strongly reminded of his first look at Charon leaning against the wall of the Ninth Circle. The way he stood was like some kind of ancient guardian, ready to wait around for eternity if it was needed.

The air got progressively colder and wetter as he descended into the lower reaches of the memorial basement. Huge tanks and standing pools of water were everywhere, generating the damp chill and a calm rushing sound as it moved through the pipes. Lee wondered how they didn't just fall asleep when working down here from the constant white noise. He made his way to the turbine and generator room, picking his way around tables stacked with books and the various bits of electronics strewn on the floor. _Down and down, into the depths._

Lee found the room and had to stifle a laugh when he saw the state of disarray his dad was in: jumpsuit smeared with grease, hair standing up in crazy clumps and corkscrews, and one shoe had somehow become removed from his foot and lay on the floor by itself. He was kneeling over one of the big turbines attached to the floor and was working on a tangle of wires and pipes with a huge pair of heavy pliers. _How many times have I seen him doing this or something similar back in the vault?_ James smiled as he looked up and realized who was waiting in the doorway.

"Hello son, glad you made it." He stood, about to walk forward when he noticed something amiss and glanced around 'til he located his missing footwear. "Guess I got a little distracted."

_Story of your life,_ Lee thought wryly as he stepped forward to give his dad a hug. It was good to see him again, and he seemed perfectly normal, if his current activities were any indication. After a moment, the older man held him back at arm's length, appearing to examine Lee for any injury or illnesses. He rubbed a thumb across the scar on Lee's cheek and frowned faintly.

"Hmm, that's relatively new, but healing well enough. How was the trip down here? Didn't run into any trouble?"

Lee bore with the examination, if a little wearily. _Always in doctor-mode._ "No trouble. I brought a uh... friend with me."

James raised an eyebrow but released him from the appraisal, satisfied. "Good. Safety in numbers. Well, I'm going to keep on working on this... bleeding thing," he said, punctuating his sentence with a light kick to the stubborn engine, "You and your friend should look around a bit, get reacquainted with the building and the people. We've got a few new hires. When you're done, come see me and I'll load you up with work, there's a lot to be done," he said with a rueful smile.

"Yeah, can't wait." Lee made a sour face, but couldn't keep it straight and laughed as he left the room to head back to ground floor. He was here for work and was ready to start. He remembered Charon's joke about food and hoped Dr. Li still had Garza on the payroll; that guy could cook. His stomach growled as he started the slow, labyrinthine journey back upstairs.

When he approached Charon, he could tell something had happened; the ghoul's face was straight, but his eyes were dancing with restrained mirth. Lee stopped in front of him and crossed his arms, "Yeah…?"

Still leaning against the wall, in typical Charon fashion, he glanced down at Lee and said, "One of the ladies was on lunch break and got a little drunk." He coughed and looked toward the back, checking to see if they were still around. The coast was clear. "The two of them couldn't stop peeking over here and giggling. After a few minutes Ms. Holt came over here and said..." he rolled his eyes, "'Y'know what, you're a hot piece of ass for a ghoul.' Winked at me and wobbled back to her desk."

Lee stared at him open mouthed before doubling up and cackling with laughter.

Charon sniffed. "I don't know if I should be offended or not." He leaned forward, stepping away from the wall and nodding toward the basement access door. "So what did he have to say?"

Lee waved his hand in front of him, trying to get under control. "Heh heh... pff. Ahhh. He said to check out the building and say hi to everyone. Get acclimatized. Then go back and he'll have stuff for us to do. Guess Anna's taken care of in the say hi department." He suffered another short burst of giggles. "Come on." He beckoned and they started making their way around the torus of the main floor.

The rest of the building was as cluttered as the entrance and the basement even more so. Everyone working there looked tired but happy and, amusing to Lee, nearly all of them gave a small start when they saw Charon looming behind the doc's son. On the way back down to be assigned their work for the day, Lee laughed and said a little apologetically, "I guess to a bunch of sheltered scientists you seem a little... alarming."

He shrugged, "Can't do anything about it. Don't really want to either."

Grinning broadly, Lee waved a hand over his jaw, "Plus with your coloring you look a little like you just tore someone's throat out with your teeth."

Charon growled and snapped at him playfully and Lee jumped away with a squeak.

Meeting James wasn't as awkward as either of them had thought; he was surprised but not afraid of the huge ghoul, quickly coming forward to enthusiastically greet him and shake his hand. Lee was completely taken aback when his father said, "Well this is quite the coincidence. It's good to see you again Charon, what've you been up to these past years?"

Charon told him about still working the long tiresome job for Ahzrukhal at Underworld and ended it with, "And then your son dropped in and rescued me on accident."

James had a good laugh at that, saying it sounded very much like something Lee would do.

Lee was mystified, but decided to ask for the story later or they'd be stuck in here for hours.

They spent the rest of the day hauling monitors and sensor equipment upstairs to the rotunda, sorting piles of wires, tubes, and cables, and checking the insides of electronics for any corroded or damaged parts. Charon was good for the carrying, but when it came time to survey the working versus not-working pieces, he always found some excuse to hang back and lurk behind Lee. The ghoul haunting his shoulder eventually got to Lee, and he stopped and half laughing said, " _Charon_ , can you stop looming? I wouldn't mind but it's making me think bad things and that's not very appropriate right now." Charon went off into a storm of rusty chuckling and relented; moving away to examine the machinery on the far walls.

Little by little, the mess of stuff was being pulled into almost recognizable stations and groupings; the pattern was still just a little beyond Lee's grasp. Small scale purification tests were being done periodically, but according to the small bits of information they gleaned from talking to James when he passed by, there was still one piece of technology missing that they'd need to make the big machine work. Lee remembered him mentioning it when they'd met in the VR vault, something called a GECK. _Mysterious._

Everyone's work ceased at sunset. The doctors and assistants and hired help all found a place to stop and headed to their respective dormitories around the facility to relax and have some food before it was time to turn in. Some of the younger workers ran over to Rivet City to party at the bar on the bottom deck, but most people stayed and, good news for Lee, Garza was indeed there supervising and helping cook dinner for everyone. They'd seen him on their frequent trips up and downstairs, him helping to move equipment as always.

The two of them ate in the common area that had been cleared out to form a sort of cafeteria, and now headed back outside to get some air and take a break from everyone. Lee snuck an extra iguana kebab from the kitchen and chewed on it as they sat on the huge water-smoothed rocks surrounding the island.

Charon had produced a crumpled pack of cigarettes from one of his many pockets, and now sat smoking thoughtfully. The white trail of smoke rose nearly straight up; the wind had calmed and the world was quiet save for the minute lapping of the water. He turned to Lee, amused that he ate so much dinner and was still eating more. "Have you ever even seen an iguana?"

The chewing slowed as Lee thought it over. "Nnnoooo..."

"How do you know that's what you're eating then," his eyes glinted with mischief, "It could be _anything._ "

"Maybe, but it's so good. I'd eat a rock if he could cook it this way." Finishing the last bite and pointing the kebab stick at him, he added, "If you're trying to gross me out so you can have it it didn't work." Charon stubbed the last of the cigarette out on the bottom of his boot and rolled his eyes at the accusation.

"So. Here, help me out with this and tell me how you know my dad and why you didn't tell me earlier," Lee said, grabbing random bits of junk from his pack and depositing them in Charon's lap. Lee pulled out his rifle and leaned back into a comfortable slouch, propping the barrel on his crossed leg. Smiling at the still confused look from Charon, he said, "My arms are sore as hell, but I gotta keep my skills up and that's just an extra challenge to keep it steady." He nodded at the bits of garbage he'd handed over. "Throw those as hard as you can over that wayish and I'll get some target practice in while you tell me a story." He chuckled, "And I like how you glossed over you trying to kill me when we met, heh heh."

"It didn't seem diplomatic… 'Hey good to see you, I came _this_ close to killing your only child a month and a half ago.'"

"Aawh." Lee stretched his arms out, the tired muscles protesting, and repositioned himself, throwing out a thumbs up. "Ready when you are."

Charon stood, cradling the jumble of items in his left arm and picking one at random with his right hand. He bounced an empty bottle in his palm, "First of all, I wasn't hiding anything. You never called him by name, so I wasn't sure who he was, if he was the same man I met back then." He tossed the bottle up, caught it again, and flung it out over the water. The glass glinted in the setting sun as it flipped end over end. Before reaching the water, Lee's gun crashed, and the bottle shattered into sparkling shards.

"Nyehh, alright. Okay, so how'd you wind up down here anyway, and what happened?"

"It's actually not much of a story. This was when I first started working for Ahzrukhal, about a year in. I was out on a trip to Rivet City for pickup and delivery of whatever he was after, chems and alcohol. I'd finished the delivery and the pickup wasn't for a few days, so I was sitting outside on the bridge taking a break."

He grabbed an old tin can filled with god knows what kind of ancient goop and threw it over the water.

_BANG!_

"I was sitting there looking out over the water and a bright flash of light came out of the memorial here. Being the curious guy that I am, (Lee snorted) and not having anything to do for two days, I went over to investigate."

A chipped cue ball sailed out.

_BAM!_

"The place seemed empty so I checked out the central chamber and scared the hell out of this skinny guy in a lab coat standing over a smoking computer screen. It took a while to convince him that I wasn't gonna hurt him, but I eventually got my story out and he invited me to stay a night, to apologize for throwing a wrench at my head. And you know, you take hospitality where you can get it."

A half-dried out bottle of glue met its end.

_BANG!_

"So I stayed and he showed me around, explained what they were trying to do, and I met the two other scientists working with him. We haven't seen her yet, but I assume Dr. Li is as scary as ever. Well, for a tiny lady doctor she's scary enough. And the other specialist there, Catherine; much nicer to be around than Madison. Didn't have to keep worrying about getting a disapproving look for doing nothing."

He tossed a melted looking sensor module, and turned around when the expected gunshot didn't ring out.

The rifle hung loose in Lee's hands and his eyebrows were raised in surprise, "Whoa, you met my mom too?"

The words hit Charon and realization slowly followed. _Of course._ 21 years ago, a year before he was born. "Yeah, I guess I did. Done?" At a nod from Lee he dropped the remaining items into the pack and dusted his hands off. Charon hopped across to Lee's boulder and sat down right behind him, sliding forward to let him lean back against his chest. The ghoul folded his arms around Lee's body and rested his chin on the thin shoulder.

_Hummh. This is heaven._ Engulfed in warmth from Charon's constantly hot skin, the soft embrace, and a light breeze from the water. Lame as it sounded, he felt very safe and relaxed in Charon's arms. He ran a hand over the ragged forearm, tracing an exposed cord of muscle. Curious, he asked, "What was she like?"

Lee's body vibrated from the rumble of Charon's voice through his back, "I knew them all only for that one day... but she was kind. You could see she was head over heels for your dad, and he for her. She laughed a lot." Lee felt Charon's jaw shift against his neck as he paused and figured he was smiling. "I was sorry to leave when I had to; they were good to be around. Genuinely nice people are hard to find, and they definitely were." He squeezed Lee briefly. "Like you." Charon bent his head forward and pressed a kiss into the sensitive spot under Lee's jaw. He felt an electric tingle sink into his stomach and the skin on his arms humped into gooseflesh. Charon's breath trailed up his neck and side of his face. He rasped, "Thanks for not being another asshole contract owner," and bit him lightly on the ear, eliciting a full-blown shiver from Lee.

Lee snorted and rolled over, bringing his knees up and wrapping his legs around Charon's back. He usually tried to act nonchalant around Charon; touching him, talking to him, passing him boxes of shells for the huge gun he carried, but actually being up so close and personal reminded him again of how terrifying an entity he was. The unreadable electric blue eyes, brow creased in an almost permanent scowl, lower face streaked with crimson, and the large, leather-clad hands that could probably rip a person in two if he made the effort _. I've got nothing at all to fear from him, but he is an absolute death machine. Why is that so sexy?_ He shivered at a fragment of a memory of the ghoul stalking up a dark hallway, and himself crouched on the floor, helpless in the wake of Charon's approach.

Charon raised an eyebrow as Lee shook off his thoughts and scooted up, murmuring, "Well, like you said, it was an accident that I got your contract at all, but yeah, no problem at all." He let his lips barely brush Charon's neck as he spoke and felt the heat coming from his skin pulse stronger at the touch. He smiled. Funny to think that he could rile up this demi-god. His lips and cheek slid slowly along the thick shoulder muscle before he turned his head and bit into the ghoul's neck.

Charon roughly grabbed Lee's arms and reflexively jerked him closer, their bodies now jammed together. The buckles and straps on Charon's armor dug through Lee's shirt and he could feel the growl through his chest as the ghoul spoke in a warning murmur, "You better hope no one decides to come out here."

Lee shifted around, sliding against what was now an extremely hard part of Charon. "Fuck 'em, we're on the other side of the building." _I think they'd appreciate us not doing this in the sleeping rooms anyway,_ he thought, and sank his teeth into Charon's skin again.

A vicious snarl erupted from Charon, and Lee shortly found his face dug into the sandy dirt of the riverbank. His pants were roughly pulled down, and one of Charon's hands clamped onto his hip, dragging him backward with easy strength. Lee's skin flushed hot at the indelicate treatment, knowing his face and arms were smeared with river mud. His legs were kicked apart, and he gasped when Charon's spit-slicked cock pressed against and into him. _He must have un-doing his armor down to an art._ Thick fingers dug into his throat and brought him up into a kneeling position; his back leaned against Charon's chest in an awkward arch. The ease with which he was being completely dominated served to not only really arouse him, but also frustrate from the lack of movement. Charon's arm was snaked under his, propping his right out uselessly. He started to reach with his left, the building pressure in him seeking release, but had to stop as the hand circling his neck squeezed warningly. He made a jokingly exasperated huff and gave up the motion, feeling warm waves flow through his trapped body and tried to relax back against the armored chest behind him. Charon's breath blew across the back of his neck, and he laughed raspily against Lee's ear before slowly digging his teeth into the lobe.

The stranglehold Lee was in and the unrelenting friction sliding in and out drove him to a yelling and cursing release. His body flashed burning hot and his muscles all tensed together as he came, without a touch. He could feel Charon's grip on his throat weaken and fall away as the ghoul finished as well, torn fingers sliding down his shirt and breath ruffling his hair.

Charon heaved a satisfied sigh, and leaned back on his heels for a second before busily stripping his armor off. Lee glanced back and let out an indignant squawk as Charon grabbed his shirt and yanked it up over his head. He pointed at Lee's feet and said, "You should hurry and take those off if you don't want them wet." Still bare-assed and knees sinking into the mud, Lee stared at him open-mouthed until he realized how quickly Charon's clothes were coming off. He barely kicked the boots off before Charon stepped on the waist of his crumpled khakis, yanked him up by an arm, effectively denuding him, and grinning entirely too cheerfully, launched them both into the freezing cold water of the Tidal Basin. Too shocked to scream or make any kind of protest, Lee glared daggers at Charon and scrubbed off as fast as humanly possible.

"'M not a... g-goddamn penguin. Shit it's c-cold!"

Charon was looking equally chilly, but replied, "Don't they say cleanliness is the mark of the civilized man, or something stupid like that?"

"Do civilized men fuck on the riverbank next to some old ass museum or am I missing something about this entirely?"

Charon cackled and waded out of the water, picking up their things, and headed back inside. Lee followed, occasionally aiming kicks at the backs of Charon's knees as his teeth chattered. They managed to evade detection inside, and made their way down to the common room where everyone was bunked for the night. The beds were small, but warm and comfortable, and they slept, both happy enough.


	28. Unwelcome Houseguests

Days sped by and everything was nearly complete when James called Charon and Lee into the rotunda for a discussion. They knew things were coming together; if not from the gleaming stacks of monitors and fixed equipment, then from the excited hum that hung in the air given off by all the working people. James clasped his hands and smiled broadly as they approached him and the main control panel in the rotunda. The column of water held in the center of the room threw wavery reflections onto the walls and floor.

"Well, we're nearly done. The last thing we need to activate this thing is the GECK." His smile turned slightly shame-faced. "You've already done so much to help us here, but I need to ask you one more favor."

Lee said, "Go and get it, right?"

James sighed and turned away, examining the water flowing through the huge tube. "Exactly. I finally learned where to find one, but it won't be easy, apparently. It's in a vault far northwest of here, and I don't know why, but the main entrance is somehow blocked or inaccessible. There's another way in, but I'm not sure what it is. Possibly some kind of cave system judging by the structure of other vaults. I don't really have any more information than that."

Charon hrmphed, "Another vault, huh."

"I'm sorry to ask, but short of hiring a mercenary team, you two are our best shot. Probably a better shot actually; I trust you to find it and get it back undamaged. Here, Lee, I'll send the coordinates to your PipBoy." He punched a few buttons on his wrist, and nodded when it made a short beep, answered by another beep coming from Lee's backpack. "We've only got a few minor tweaks left: making sure everything's connected to the main power and clearing out the ducts. So, some easy work today and you can set out tomorrow, what do you think?"

Lee clicked his boot heels together and snapped a half-sarcastic salute at him, "Yes, sir."

"That's my boy," James said with a weary smile. "And just think of all the caps we save on mercs."

"Well, let's go get to work, Char. Unless you'd rather take it easy today and listen to me sing along with the radio."

A slight wince flickered over Charon's face before he smoothed it away. "I'm... ready for work."

They could hear James snickering as they left the room and the door swung closed.

Crawling through the ducts might have been comparatively easier than hauling heavy equipment around, but that didn't mean it was any more pleasant. The pipes needed to be cleared of debris so the water could flow through without shoving everything against the grates and causing blockages. Charon and Lee stood at the ripped up section of floor that served as the best entrance to the duct system. The sound of dripping water echoed up from the opening.

"I like dark, cavernous holes in the ground as much as the next person... but man. Why us?" Lee said as he eyed the grate with distaste and scuffed a scattering of dirt into the darkness.

"No one else has the muscle," Charon said, grabbing hold of the grate and pulling it up and over so it clanged to the floor. He smirked and flexed his arms before kneeling down and sitting on the edge of the hole.

"Does it fall under 'combat and protection' if I order you to not wear any armor or clothes on your upper body? For, you know, strategic purposes." Lee slid down next to Charon and dropped into the pipe, landing on the rusty bottom.

"That doesn't seem tactically sound."

Lee grabbed a big chunk of metal plating leaning against the side of the wall and passed it up to Charon to toss aside. "Sure it is, for uh. Maneuverability."

Charon leaned down, pale eyes staring unsettlingly, "You'd like that, huh."

Turning away to pick up a good-sized bag filled with paper, Lee muttered, "Oh yeah."

They turned off their minds and just focused on clearing out the junk they found. The entrance pipe was soon clean, and they both jumped down into a lower bend of the pipe and kept going. Eventually they had to just carry the things they found with them; as long as the stuff wasn't behind a grate, it would be pushed forward into the water tanks in the sub-basement, which would be easier to clean.

While examining a nameplate fused to the floor, Lee felt, more than heard, a very soft rumbling.

"Do you hear something?" he asked, holding a hand out for a moment to still any motion.

They both stood stock still and listened. Something faint, but growing louder. A kind of muddy thumping sound; quick paced and rhythmic, like an engine. Lee's eyes were wide and he looked up at Charon. "It's not coming from here is it, the building?" If it was, there was a very real possibility they could die in this pipe. There was no reason to think it would happen, but if the machines were switched on and no one knew they were in here...

But Charon shook his head. "Outside. Come on, grab whatever you've got and let's keep going, we're almost out." The sound was familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it. It was still growing louder, and a feeling that something wasn't right sank into him. Unsettled, he shuffled forward more quickly, body bent to keep from knocking his head on the ceiling.

They dropped into a section where the top of pipe had rusted away and they could see the sky and part of the railing and walkways outside the memorial. The source of the sound was nearby and absolutely thunderous now and a strong breeze was blowing through the area. Charon looked up through the hole above them and froze. A grey, bug-like hull and double propellers could be seen over the edge of the rail. _That's what it was._ "We need to get back as fast as we can."

Lee yanked on the grate at the opposite end and frowned. It didn't move. "It's stuck."

_Nnngh. Of course._ "Okay, come on." He grabbed hold of the bars on the top half, and Lee took the lower ones. "Pull on three." Lee set his feet against the edge of the wall. "One, two, three!" They threw their bodies back, arms straining, and managed a tiny bit of movement from the grate. Rust sifted down and dusted their arms. Outside, they could faintly hear shouting over the steady chop of the propellers. A chill ran over Charon's skin. They needed to get this grate open _now._

"What is that thing?" Lee asked. He could hear the urgency in Charon's voice and was feeling pretty uneasy himself. They got set for another pull.

"It's a vertibird. The Enclave."

"The guys from the radio?"

"Yeah, but they're not as friendly as Three Dog. One, two, three, pull!"

They yanked again, and it shifted back, almost loose.

"What are they doing here?"

"I have no idea. I suppose the project? But how could they have heard about it... doesn't matter. Our people are unprepared and defenseless up there. We aren't much of a match if they're out here in force, but we have to get in there and help." He took a breath. "One more. One, two, three, pull!"

They pulled as hard as they could, and the grate finally popped out of its setting and fell toward them. Lee hopped out of the way and then jumped over it and dashed for the pipe outlet further on. Two words kept clanging in his mind. _Unprepared. Defenseless._ He gritted his teeth and jumped down the first bend of the final pipe. _Fucking hell._ They dropped down the pipe with a thump, finally emerging into the memorial's sub-basement. Lee happened to glance up and over through the chain-link gate on the far side of the room and froze. A person in a dark suit of power armor stood there, holding a plasma rifle. He looked like he was guarding the stairs, just looking back and forth and waiting. _Must be one of the Enclave, whoever they are._ The guy looked up. Directly into the pipe. Spotted. Lee grabbed Charon and ducked down, scuttling for the end of the pipe. The open water tanks would be below them, and they would be out of the power armor guy's line of fire. Lee's hair stood on end as a plasma bolt passed about an inch above his head. The reek of ozone permeated the air and Lee's skin felt uncomfortably prickly and tight. _Too close._ They jumped over the edge and after a short fall, splashed into the tank. They slogged out and snuck out into the hallway. Lee's nerves were wound up tight, and he was breathing rapidly. "They got any weaknesses?" he whispered. It looked like that guy was alone, just keeping watch over a dead end, but it was possible he had a partner down here as well.

Charon tapped an eyelid. "The eyes, if you can get a precise shot on them. He also doesn't look like he could swim too good, if you get me."

They heard the signature clank of heavy armor footsteps slowly walking up ahead of them.

"I like your thinkin'. Hide behind this cabinet over here and I'll try to lure him over."

They quietly slid back into the tank room and Charon whispered, "Be careful."

Lee spread his hands and said, "Hey, it's me."

"I know, that's why I said be careful."

Lee glared at him and heavily ran over to the doorway on the opposite side of the room, jogging slowly for the soldier to _just_ spot him disappearing around the frame. Sensing an easy kill, he clanked forward in a run and was easily caught by Charon. The ghoul grabbed him around the waist, swung him around, and dumped him into the holding tank. The servos in the armor buzzed and whined as they tried to function underwater, but sputtered and failed, and the soldier was left underwater in a metal suit that weighed him down to the bottom. He was face down, and Charon noticed a sort of locking mechanism on the neck of the suit. _Probably a release for the helmet?_ That might be useful if they were stuck in close quarters with another one. Lee arrived back at Charon's shoulder as the suit stopped thrashing.

"Shit," he said, face looking pale. _Terrible way to die._ "Come on, let's get upstairs."

They ran through the basement, fears and anxiety pounding through their heads. _Why did the Enclave have to show up right when they were conveniently out of the way? Building something on this kind of scale surely made Project Purity an obvious target. Why was there no actual security here?_ They slammed through the upstairs doors and nearly knocked over another soldier. He stumbled away from the door in confusion, and Charon jumped on him, tackling him against the wall and grabbing for the helmet latch. He flipped it up and wrenched the helmet off, probably breaking the guy's nose in the process. He grabbed his head and snapped his neck before the soldier could get his bearings again. Turning around as the dead man collapsed to the floor, he saw Lee taking aim down the long hallway at another armored man patrolling the door to the rotunda. Probably where everyone went. Lee growled in frustration. Without taking his eye away he muttered, "Get his attention, he won't turn around. Soon as I shoot, run for the rotunda, whoever didn't escape must be in there."

Charon set his thumb and index finger to his lips and blew a piercing whistle. The guy snapped around and one of the bulging yellow eye pieces immediately went dark. He slumped forward, and the two pelted down the hallway towards his body and the door behind it. Lee was in a state of near panic now, scared out of his mind at what they would find in the central chamber. Charon had his shotgun at the ready, and they opened the door.


	29. Escape

The scene that greeted them was initially relieving: no dead scientists littering the floor, no troop of armored soldiers waiting for them, no smoking pile of wreckage where the purifier was supposed to be. They spotted Dr. Li at the glass bulkhead doors and ran to her. She turned, eyes wide and face drawn in anxiety. Her usual professional demeanor was completely shattered and she looked like she was barely staying conscious.

Lee grabbed her arm. "Are you okay? What's happening? Who is _that_?"

She shook her head, unable to answer and turned back to the strange man in a long coat standing inside the glass partition. Janice and James were also inside the central chamber being covered by two more Enclave soldiers holding huge energy weapons. The voices were muffled and quiet on the other side of the window, but could be faintly heard. The man in front of James and Janice noticed the new arrivals and slightly turned his head to look at them, an ugly sneer on his face.

"As I was saying, I am Colonel Augustus Autumn, representing the Enclave forces here. We are taking over this facility, and you will immediately activate this purifier and transfer all relevant data to my experts. If you resist we will be forced to use... extreme measures to ensure your assistance."

James' face was pale, but determined. Lee could see he was terrified... and furious. Lee tapped the bulkhead release button on the nearby pedestal, but of course, nothing happened. The thing was completely bulletproof, and there was no other way in. Lee hated the helpless feeling that was creeping over him.

"You have no jurisdiction here, I refuse. This building houses a private project and I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Without warning, Autumn drew a pistol from his coat and calmly shot Janice in the stomach. Lee yelled in surprised anguish and put his hands on the glass in front of him. Janice was bleeding heavily and fell to the floor, dead or unconscious. Both James and Lee looked back at Colonel Autumn, eyes blazing with anger.

Autumn spoke quietly, "I trust I can count on your cooperation now to avoid any further unpleasantness. I am not a patient man."

"Alright," James answered. "Just don't hurt anyone else." He was alone in the chamber now with Autumn and his two bodyguards. James glanced at Lee, an unreadable expression on his face, and turned around to type something out on the purifier console. _What is he_ doing _? He can't activate it without the GECK... Oh, no._ Before Lee could complete the thought, James punched the enter key and a bright flare of light shot out from the middle of the room.

Behind him he could hear Madison's horrified voice, "The radiation purge! He's going to kill them all!"

The machinery below the platform cycled up with a deep, thrumming _whong whong whong_ sound. The light pulsed in time with the sound as the engine got up to speed. The soldiers and Autumn collapsed to the floor, and James with them, falling over the console and sinking to his knees. Lee screamed out and pounded his fists against the glass, feeling his stomach burn and twist from the ambient radiation. "Dad!" There was nothing in his mind but the flashing light and nothing in his ears but the beat of the machine. _He's dead._

Dead.

A pair of hands grabbed him by the arms and spun him around. Before he could register who it was or what was happening, he threw out a fist and cracked the person in the face. Charon stumbled back, hand going to his spouting nose; blood already dripping down his face and off his jaw. His eyes darkened, but he shouted over the revving machine, "Come on! We have to get out before this whole place is flooded! Everyone will die!"

The machine wasn't stopping, it continued to cycle up, the rhythm now starting to falter as if an axle somewhere was off-kilter. If it went on much longer it would probably tear itself apart.

Lee glanced back into the chamber once more, the yellow numbers on his dad's jumpsuit glaring out at him. He clenched his fists and turned away from the sight. "Go then."

All three of them dashed out into the hall and spotted a small cluster of the remains of the Project Purity team. They joined up with them and Dr. Li led the way to a hidden manhole cover on the far side of the building. The group descended the ladder and ran forward while Dr. Li shouted out directions. There were a few Enclave soldiers along the way that were taken care of by Charon. Lee was completely useless for a fight right now, and just ran along behind the ghoul, eyes on his back and mind whirling. He could hear nothing but the pound of his blood in his ears and felt detached from his body, like he was just floating along for the ride. It was an eternity, running through the dark underground. Endless halls, endless stairways, endless running. Running away from his dad.

They wound up at the Citadel, and were grudgingly admitted into the interior. Dr. Li and company split off to their own dormitories, and Charon and Lee were taken to a secluded room in the corner of one of the underground levels. Their Brotherhood initiate escort gave the blank-eyed human and blood-soaked ghoul a curious glance, but quickly scurried off to attend to his regular duties. Charon watched Lee stumble around the small room before sitting on one of the cots and letting his head hang forward, staring at the tiled floor. Speaking quietly he asked, "You gonna be okay for a little while?"

Not looking up, Lee flopped a hand out and nodded his head.

Charon left him alone for a bit, finding a bathroom and washing the dried blood from his face and clothes as best he could. He removed the outer plates of his armor to scrub them off, being partly successful. So many nicks and scratches in the surface made it hard to really get the leather clean. He raised his head and looked in the mirror above the sink. The fluorescent lighting harshly illuminated every scratch and crag on his face, and made his already pale eyes look like they were glowing. He bared his teeth and made a silent snarl at the silvery surface before picking up his armor pieces and tossing them over his shoulder as he headed out the door. A feeling of vague despair clung to him as he walked; watching James and Janice, two people he actually liked, die right in front of him was appalling. His body ached, his face throbbed, and he still had the slimy metallic taste of blood in the back of his throat. _My kingdom for some Aspirin._ He found Dr. Li and her team in their room, and stopped in the doorway and raised a hand to Madison. She raised hers back in acknowledgement, having almost the same wide, unfocused gaze that Lee did. Charon wandered the base for a while, garnering plenty of stares. He laughed resentfully on the inside, when was the last time a ghoul was in the Citadel?

He arrived back at their room to find Lee in the same position he'd left him: elbows on knees, head leaned forward, and a dark shag of hair covering his face. He announced his presence with a quiet cough, and went ahead and dumped his armor and gun in the corner. Feeling apprehensive, he sat next to Lee on the bed and gently wrapped an arm around the trembling shoulder. James' death hadn't hit him as hard as it had Lee, which was to be expected, but seeing Lee so lost and distraught wrenched at his heart a little. Uncertainly, in a low tone he said, "I'm terrible at this, but I'm here. For anything you need."

Lee let out a shaky, guttural sigh and put his arms around Charon, leaning his head on a shoulder. He felt his eyes burn and throat constricting, and gulped in a breath of air. _Damnit._ Charon eased his free arm under Lee's legs and picked him up, cradling him in his lap. In a miserable, watery voice Lee said, "Shit. What a goddamn mess."

Lee's arms tightened on him in a spasm and he shook with silent sobs. Charon just held him, running a hand across his back, and feeling the warm damp patch on his shirt spread where Lee was burying his face.

Lee kept replaying the events in the purifier in his mind: Janice keeling over after being shot, the strange last look his father had given him, the realization of what would happen when the enter button was pressed, the bright flare of light, and everyone in the chamber sinking down to the floor. He cried until he felt empty and the tears wouldn't come anymore. He armed the last tears off his face and took a deep breath. Charon leaned back and looked down at him. Hair hanging in limp straggles and eyes red and puffy, Lee said, "Sorry about hitting you."

Charon snorted at the unexpected statement and answered, "It's okay, I've had worse." He freed his left hand and gingerly wiggled the short remains of the bridge of his nose back and forth, wincing at the still sharp pain. "...but not much worse."

Lee hiccupped a laugh and sighed, scooting off Charon and standing up to stretch. He felt exhausted and his train of thought struggled to keep going as he eyed the bed and the clean sheets. _We need to go find that GECK, I'm not letting him die for nothing. Rest if we need to, but we're going to get that thing as soon as possible. Goddamn Enclave._ "Charon."

Charon looked up.

"We're going to the vault to get that GECK. Then we're taking Dr. Li back and she's going to complete it. Everything was ready except that final piece." He looked across the room, right into Charon's eyes. "I need to see Project Purity activated."

Charon nodded. Completing the project felt like something they owed to James.

"This place is fine and all, but I'd like to get out of here pretty soon. Brotherhood makes me nervous. I'm about to fall asleep on my feet, so I'm gonna go to bed now." He shook his head and muttered, "Fuck."

Charon took a chair by the door and watched Lee fall into bed and go to sleep almost right away. Ghouls weren't on the best of terms with the Brotherhood and he felt slightly uneasy as well, but they were protected here, for now. He thought back on the short conversation with James about where to find the GECK. They had the location of the vault, a warning, and nothing else. Anything could be waiting for them there, and they didn't even know how to actually get inside. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck back and forth. _Bring lots of stims and worry about it when we get there._


	30. The Entrance

"Oh, wow. Look at it."

The PipBoy had guided them far, far to the west, and they now stood waiting behind a rusted sign that warned 'DANGER! High radiation levels ahead!' They were in obvious super mutant territory, as evidenced by the twisted metal formations sprouting from the ground, but what captured their attention right now was the stretch of land in front of them. A burned and wrecked crater yawned back into a tall hill, with a tiny wooden door set into the far wall. The ground had been melted into blackened glass long ago by some incredible heat; over the years the wind had blown sand and dirt over it, but the humped and cracked surface shone through. Still pools of dirty water dotted the approach, and even in the blazing sun, Lee could swear the center of the crater had a weird ambient glow.

"This is the main entrance. The door doesn't look like it was damaged by... whatever happened here, but uh. I'm getting a not so hot feeling about... this," Lee said, sweeping his hand at the darkened earth. Besides all the obvious signs of danger (the actual sign that said DANGER! definitely included), even the shape of the area was creepy. Like a cupped hand waiting for you to walk in just far enough... then it snaps shut like a trap.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But we're here; I think it might be good to at least try before we check somewhere else..." Charon trailed off, looking hard at the metal sign between them and the way in. He was fairly certain what had happened here was a direct nuclear blast, but he intended to look just to make sure. "Here, I've got an idea. Can I borrow your little computer for a minute?"

Perplexed, Lee dug the PipBoy out of his bag and after punching the power button, handed it over. Charon examined the gauge on the side that displayed the Geiger data and nodded. "Stay here and keep an eye out, this place doesn't feel safe." They hadn't seen anything in the vicinity on the way here, which by itself was suspicious. Lee swung his rifle around and held it ready in his arms. As he waited, an unpleasant feeling of being watched crept over him. There was nothing at all that could be seen besides dirt, rocks, and the scrubby bushes around them, but the weird sensation wouldn't go away.

The ghoul held the machine at chest level and slowly started walking toward the wooden door on the other side of the blasted crater. His eyes darted around the piled rocks around him, watching for any movement, but there was nothing. This place was as dead and still as a grave. Dust in the breeze whispered around him, and he walked on, glancing alternately at the gauge and at his feet to watch where he was stepping. The glassy earth creaked and crunched under his feet, and an unpleasant charred smell rose from it.

The counter started ticking.

7 rads per second at the outside. Alright, let's see how bad it gets, he thought, continuing forward. The familiar tingling ran over his skin as he walked, but he soon stopped, amazed at the readings he was getting from the Geiger counter. This can't be right... but it was. He could feel the radiation surging through his body, flushing his skin with warmth and an overall feeling of intense energy and vigor. Every step he took made the number shoot up exponentially. Ten paces past the sign where he'd left Lee and the rads were already up at around 200 per second. Another step and it jumped up to 550. He stretched his arm out as far as it could go, and took one more pace. 800. And he wasn't even close to the center of the blast zone. He turned and jogged back to Lee. Without a word, he dropped the PipBoy into his hand and pointed at the list of recent readings on the display.

Lee saw the peak number and his breath stopped for a split second. He would've dropped his gun if not for the strap holding it on his shoulder. "Holy shit. Are these real?"

"Yes, and I didn't even walk in all the way. I believe we've just found the most irradiated place in the wasteland."

Lee let his knees unlock and he flopped to the ground, still staring at the green numbers flickering at him on the screen. If I jumped in there I would be dead in less than a second. He shivered and looked around again. Barren nothingness as far as the eye could see. He'd expected a roadblock like this, but it was still a little disappointing. His dad had said there might be some kind of cave system that would grant them access, but where the hell...

Duh.

He pulled up the map screen and went ahead and filled in 'Vault 87' at their coordinates. Right. So. He scrolled around, looking for any kind of landmarks or formations of note.

"Oh."

A questioning murmur from Charon.

"This looks... promising, at least." He turned and looked up at the ghoul, facing his screen so he could see it too. "Little Lamplight Caverns, that old touristy spot. It's right to the southeast of here." The sensation of watching eyes crawling over his skin still hadn't left. Turning and looking down, Lee quietly asked, "Don't look, but do you feel like someone's watching us?" He pretended to mess with the dials on the PipBoy some more as Charon stretched his arms over his head and twisted his back, scanning a wide circle around them.

He dropped into a squat beside Lee, examining the screen, and muttered, not moving his lips, "If they're there, they're hiding really well. I felt it too. All we can do is be cautious."

Nngh. Last thing we need is some stealthy group of assholes waiting to pounce on us. Nothing to do about it, though. "Well, let's get a move on then." Lee stood and reluctantly fastened the PipBoy on his arm. It'd been forever since he'd worn it, and the familiar feel of it brought back memories of being just another vault rat. He grimaced and twirled his arm around, adjusting to the extra weight. If they were going to be navigating an extensive tunnel system and searching a vault for an unknown piece of Vault-Tec equipment, the PipBoy seemed like a necessary evil. He double-checked their destination and they set off for the cave; both of them unable to stop surreptitiously glancing around, looking for any sign of movement.

The place looked about like they had expected: looming hills of rock with a small entrance, abandoned tour buses, a small check-in station, and the large sign cheerily proclaiming 'Little Lamplight Caverns: Book Your Tour Today!'.

"It's weird, I've seen this place advertised all over on billboards and stuff," Lee said, glancing up at the cartoony mole sculpture looming over the entrance. "Think it's any different from all the other caves around here?" Charon shrugged and they trudged down the shallow decline in the dirt to the rickety wooden storm door of the caves. They glanced at each other, exchanging a quick look that simply said be ready. The feeling of being observed had faded as they got further away from the vault, but, like usual, they were heading into the unknown. Lee pulled the door open, and they entered, each with a hand on their weapons.

True to the sign outside, it was indeed a cave: dark, full of rocks, sounds echoing and amplified by the wide hallways. The ground was on a steep decline; it looked like they would be deep underground before long.

"So, what is a GECK?" Charon asked as they made their way down a long, twisting corridor. Lights were strung up overhead, and they were still on, so it seemed intelligent humans of some sort lived here. Whether that was relieving or not was still up for debate.

"Y'know what, I don't... actually know," Lee answered sheepishly. "From what little my dad told me about it, I gather it'll be small enough for a person to carry, it's some extremely powerful piece of technology, and it'll probably be contained somewhere safe. If we find something that sounds like that and I've never seen it before, we may've found it. He called it a "terraformer" once, but that doesn't really help with what it looks like."

The path they were on ended and they stepped into a huge stalactite covered chamber. It was dominated by a billboard laid upright directly across the middle, preventing passage. Torches sputtered in front of a large hoist, placed to lift the board. Charon and Lee moved forward to check out the mechanism, but halted at the piercing shout that came from a platform behind it.

"Stop right there!"

They looked up at the speaker. A short kid with a bored look on his face, practically buried in an oversized combat helmet and army jacket. An assault rifle was held precariously in his arms, giving Lee a momentary feeling of unease. He wasn't about to fire on a kid, which would become difficult if this one was feeling hostile. What the hell is a child doing guarding a gate in a cavern anyway?

Tentatively, he called up, "Uh, hey. We just wanna pass by. Who are you?"

"I'm the mayor of Little Lamplight, and I don't give a shit what a mungo or a zombie mungo want. You're not comin' in, so piss off."

Charon folded his arms and muttered, "Charming."

Lee stared at the kid in shock. After a second he shouted, "You little fuckhead! What the hell is your problem?" Being angry back at him probably wasn't helping, but that jab at Charon had really irritated him.

"You're my problem right now. No mungos allowed in Little Lamplight. The end."

"What the heck is a mungo!?"

The mayor rolled his eyes and somehow managed to look even more impatient than previously. "You," he waved the end of his rifle at them. "Grown-ups. Adults. Mungos."

Adults? "Wait, there are no adults at all living here?"

"Jeez, you're stupid! No. Mungos. Do. Not. Live. Here. Now get the fuck out of here before I blow your fucking head off!"

Lee retreated a few steps and waited next to the entry hall with Charon. The foul-mouthed kid calling himself the mayor glared at them from across the cave, but didn't look like he was preparing to shoot them. Lee was somewhat at a loss. "Uhhh. So. I wasn't expecting this."

Charon rolled his shoulders and grunted, "We could always just kill him."

"No, no. I'm not going to kill any kids. Not even the rude asshole ones." He glared back at the scowling punk. "I wouldn't be against giving some of them an unmerciful wedgie though."

Charon mumbled an almost inaudible "Your loss," and closed his eyes, waiting to hear whatever the plan of action would be.

Lee leaned against the wall and puffed air through his cheeks, racking his brain for something to get them by. Violence was out of the question... they couldn't magically become not adults... there was no back way in, this was the back way... a bribe maybe?

"What about paying our way in? What do you think they'd want?"

Eyes still shut, Charon said, "Don't look at me; I haven't been a kid for over 200 years."

Lee smirked and muttered, "Yeah, thanks, grandpa," which got a surprised snort from Charon. He took off his backpack and rooted around for anything that looked worthwhile; hopefully being a packrat would pay off once again. "Here, check out my amazing persuasive skills at work." He crossed his fingers and cleared his throat.

Speaking loudly so his voice would carry over the billboard he said, "Too bad I've got all these comic books I'm never gonna read again... bunch of gum and soda going to waste..." Lee laid out a small pile of ragged pile of Grognak and Captain Cosmos comics, some gum and random candy he'd found, and two glowing bottles of Quantum. Well, this was the moment of truth, would the kid go for it? There was silence for a minute, then...

"Why do you wanna come in here anyway, mungo?"

Charon grunted a quiet laugh. Trying to keep the smile off his face and sound as casual as possible, Lee said, "We're just looking for a way in to Vault 87. We need a piece of equipment from there and that's it."

The mayor lowered his gun and leaned out over the top of the barrier, "Yeah, there's a way through. Good fuckin' luck once you get back there though. Alright, gimme that stuff and I'll let you in."

They walked back to the billboard and Lee handed up the 'gifts'. They waited, and the board was slowly pulled up by the double hoists. They passed under and turned back to the kid.

"Thanks... uh..." Lee started.

"MacCready."

"Thanks MacCready. Hey, wait! Where's the vault entrance?"

MacCready was already walking to another section of the cavern, he waved a hand back and said, "Go bother Joseph about that, I ain't going back there."

Lee turned to look at Charon. Charon rolled his eyes. "Brat."

Lee shook his head and they went further into the cavern, following the signs northward to something called the Great Chamber. The other children they ran across were, thankfully, much more helpful than the mayor had been. They found Joseph without too much bother, and he agreed right away to help them into the vault. He was a tall, dark-skinned boy with a quiet voice and friendly demeanor. The polar opposite of MacCready. He led them to the back of the cave past a broken chain-link fence to a kind of balcony sticking out from the cave wall. Lee recognized the vault design and architecture and felt a chill run down his back. Here it was. They climbed the ladder and Joseph set to work fixing the small reactor that apparently powered the door.

As he reconnected the wiring, he asked, "So what are you looking for?"

"Something called a GECK. We need it to help power a water purifier back in D.C."

"Wow, you guys came far. Be careful in there, there's a reason mayor MacCready had me deactivate the door power here." The reactor chugged to life, humming, and the fuses on top crackled with electricity.

"Why, what's in there?" Lee asked warily.

Joseph stood back up, placing his wrench in his back pocket. Eyes wide, he said, "Don't you know?"

Lee raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"A long time ago there used to be people in there. When Little Lamplight first started, the kids tried to get in, looking for shelter, food, that kinda stuff. The people in there just shouted for them to go away. The kids out here kept trying, but eventually the people in the vault just stopped answering. A while after that, mutants started coming into the caverns here on the other side. And it was a lot. We still kill about twenty a week that try to come through over there. I don't know where they're keeping them all." He glanced at the door as if expecting one to walk through right then. "As soon as you guys go through, I'll keep watch over here for the rest of the day, then I'm turning this reactor back off. We don't need another leak point. Good luck though, I hope you make it back out."

They waved at Joseph as he headed back down the ladder.

"Damn."

"Yeah, twenty mutants a week all coming from one vault? He doesn't seem like the sort to exaggerate numbers, but that's... kind of impossible."

Charon touched the release on the wall and the door shushed open. "Well anyway, it's open. Shall we?"


	31. The Mutant Vault

This made the fourth vault Lee had been inside. Home sweet home of 101, the somber, sterile trap of 112, and the cold, dirty madhouse of 106, but this one... was different. The other vaults had been running as normal, or in the case of 106, barely running on reserve power, practically on its last legs. As they walked through the halls of vault 87, there was a feeling of some hideous vitality around them. The lights had switched over to the emergency bulbs, bathing everything in a red hue. The vents and electric systems were in full swing, generating a throbbing, churning sound like a heart pumping blood through the veins of the vault. The air itself was hot and humid, thick to breathe in and smelling of the rusting metal around them.

And Joseph hadn't been kidding about the mutants. Thank whatever higher power there was that they weren't organized enough for intra-vault communications or the two would've been swamped by them. As it was, Lee and Charon were working on a good enough system of checking around corners, sniping the ones that didn't spot them and letting Charon take care of the few that were alert enough to charge at them headlong.

They were deep within the vault now, and seemed to be in some kind of cell block. Rooms with one window and a locked door were all around them, and the things they saw within were sickening. Dead humans, dead mutants, dead centaurs, and dead creatures that seemed to be in stages halfway between a human and a mutant. Their mouths open in silent screams, bulging eyes staring at the ceiling, and pitiful half-changed bodies hunched over operating tables.

Charon lingered back to examine one such room, and nudged Lee before he continued on. "Look at that," he pointed at an open canister lying on the floor of the sealed room. The front was obscured, but the outside edge of a biohazard symbol could be seen stamped on its surface.

Lee looked from the glass container to the prisoner locked in the room, face twisted in pain, and green-tinged skin bulging with partially developed muscles. "Do you..." he looked again at the canister and the symbol on it _. Poison? Or something else..?_ "Do you think they're _making_ mutants?"

"It would explain the numbers Joseph told us. How more come up every week."

"These don't look very successful," he said, moving down the hall, "They all died."

Charon continued in front of him, reaching for the door release at the end of the long hall. "No, they must have another place..." His sentence was cut off as the door slid up before he touched the panel. A mutant had been waiting on the other side of the door. Before Charon could bring his shotgun up to bear, the mutant finished the swing it had started as the door opened, smashing a sledgehammer directly into Charon's right shoulder with a loud snap. The gun clattered to the floor and Charon shouted in surprise and pain then stumbled back, his arm hanging limply.

Lee darted forward and grabbed the shotgun off the floor as Charon retreated from the still-swinging mutant, and hoped a shell was still chambered. It was. The mutant screamed and fell backwards. Lee kicked its legs back out the door, and punched the door panel, closing the door again. He turned back to Charon, scared to ask what he was thinking.

"Is it broken?"

The ghoul's lips were peeled back and he was hunched over himself, holding his right arm with his left. He seemed unable to move it. Bad sign, but he shook his head no. "Dislocated."

_Phew._ "You're not gonna believe this, but I actually know how to fix that." A very long time ago, he'd been horsing around in the reactor level of 101 with Paul, and Lee had somehow fallen off a rail after trying to tightrope balance on it and had dislocated his own shoulder. The flaring sheet of pain had made him yell, and the fact that he couldn't move his arm hardly at all had scared him pretty badly. A nearly in-tears Paul had walked him back to his dad in the medical office and watched wide eyed as James carefully pulled the bone back into place, explaining why the arm was a useless dangling limb at the moment. Thankfully James hadn't asked what they were doing when it happened. Lee suspected half the reason Paul was about to cry was from getting in trouble with the Overseer for playing in an off-limits area.

"Very well, fix away." He was still cradling the hurt arm and his voice was tight, but he grudgingly straightened up and let Lee take the pauldrons off his armor.

"This is probably going to hurt, but once it's back in it'll feel perfectly fine. Okay uh. I guess lay down here on the floor." Charon sat on the rusty floor and laid back, letting out an annoyed grunt as his arm jostled around. Lee sat next to him and talked his way through what he was doing, more for himself than anything. Doctor-y shit was not his forte. "Dislocated shoulder is from the...hmm, humerus bone popping out of the shoulder socket." Lee carefully stuck a foot into Charon's right armpit and gently took the right wrist. "It usually pops behind it, so you just have to... pull it forward again..." He started firmly pulling the huge arm toward him in a kind of shallow rowing motion. "...Until it's pulled forward enough to go back in on its own." He kept pulling, pulling, and...there. With a jolt, the whole arm jerked and Charon immediately squeezed Lee's arm with his now-functional hand.

"Hah."

"How's it feel?" Lee removed his foot and squatted next to Charon's chest, watching his face.

"Perfectly... fine. Thanks." He smiled up at Lee briefly, holding his shoulder and rotating the arm around experimentally. "Think we're almost there? Your little metal boxes in the ground are nice and all but... no they're not. Let's get this thing and get out."

"Yeah, agreed. Onwards." He stood and pulled Charon to his feet. Charon buckled his armor back on as Lee stood comically far away from the door and poked the door release with the tip of his rifle. It was deserted this time and they kept going.

If the previous chambers hadn't been proof enough, the following rooms piled with computers, flasks, and burners made it clear they were in some kind of laboratory. A bright glow came from the windows to the right and Lee glanced out into the hallway. He stopped. _That could definitely be it._ He could see into a second chamber across the way; a tall metal cylinder embossed with the Vault-Tec logo stood in the center. It looked like some kind of container; the heavy seam running around its edge suggested it could be opened.

"Charon, c'mon let's get over there and check that thing out." His heart was pounding at the prospect of being so close. He (carefully) dashed through the remaining rooms, but pulled up short as he opened the last door to the entry hallway. Big puddles of glowing gunk had collected on the floor. He looked up at the cracked ceiling and broken pipes. "Nrrgh. We must be near the reactors. If one of them failed... it probably did this. Crap." Lee busily fiddled with his PipBoy, measuring the amount of rads around them.

Charon waited behind him. The feel of radiation was noticeable here, but nowhere near as strong as it was at the outside entrance.

"Not so bad. Little Rad-X and it'll be fine. Not letting this get in the way of grabbing this thing." He popped one of the little red and yellow capsules into his mouth and dry swallowed it, checking the map for the quickest run into the room as he waited for the pill to activate. He glanced over his shoulder at Charon, "Ready?"

"Always," he rumbled back.

Lee trotted into the hall, feeling some slight discomfort as he moved, but it was overcome by the feeling of imminent triumph. The doorway came into view, and they entered, standing shoulder to shoulder. The metal column rose into the ceiling, looking like a very oversized pipe. It was a plain metal sleeve, but somehow managed to be very imposing. Aware of his time limit, Lee forewent his continued gawking, and pressed the tips of his fingers into the center of the circular Vault-Tec symbol rising from the side.

They gasped as the cylinder split into two, and each half separated into the ceiling and floor. A twisted metal cage inside slowly revolved upward to reveal a small, open briefcase-shaped object sitting on a stand within. Lee's breath caught in his throat.

"Is that the GECK?" Charon asked.

Lee stepped forward, afraid to even touch the thing. He gingerly looked inside at the array of circuits, buttons, dials, and tiny monitors. He walked around to the other side. "Yeah, this is it." G.E.C.K. was stamped on the lid of the case. "Holy shit, this is it. We've got it." Carefully, carefully, he shut the lid and set the latch closed. He picked it up, the metal casing surprisingly cool to the touch, and cradled it in his arms as they left the irradiated hallway. Lee laughed nervously as they made their way back out. "Feel like I'm holding a nuclear warhead, this is scary."

Charon glanced over at the slim box. "G.E.C.K., huh," he asked, spelling it out. "It's an acronym?"

"Yeah," Lee answered. "The Garden of Eden Creation Kit. A terraformer with nearly unlimited power. And who knows how it's activated. That's why I'm trying not to piss myself."

Charon chuckled rustily and clapped Lee on the back. _Scary indeed._ Thanks again to the powers that be that the mutants hadn't messed around with it and set it off or broken it for so long. It was almost a miracle, in fact. 200 years it had been sitting here, throughout the war, the war's aftermath, and now the invasion/conversion of the mutant population.

Lee stopped in front of him. One of the common hydraulic vault doors was ahead of them, shut. "Wasn't this open...?" Lee wondered aloud. He glanced around them. Nothing else seemed amiss. _Oh well. Old ass vault, the doors probably go on the fritz every once in a while._ He pressed the door panel and it slid open fine.

Charon hung back and checked the hall they'd just come through, a little more suspicious of the door. But nothing was here; they'd seen nothing on the way back. Unless whatever it was was ahead of them... He started to step forward, to say something to Lee, when the chamber ahead of them erupted into a crackling explosion of electricity.

Lee cried out once, and then fell silent to the floor. He felt the GECK slide out of his numb hands. He wanted to scream, to grab at the fallen case, to get back up, but he was unable to move even a bit. His vision slowly started to blur and darken, and he desperately fought to stay conscious. _What's happening?!_ His face was pointed almost at the floor, and he saw several pairs of feet walking toward him; one in dark leather shoes and the rest in boxy power armored boots.

The twanging drawl of the first man was much clearer than the first time he'd heard him speak in the central chamber of project purity. Colonel Autumn stooped in front of him and picked up the GECK they'd come so far to get. He stood again, and Lee could only stare at the floor in disbelief as he heard him talk. This man was dead. He'd watched him get caught in the purge as the purifier overloaded.

"Get this back to the vertibird, and be extremely careful with it. Not a scratch, d'you understand me?"

"Yes, sir!"

Lee struggled to turn his head to see what was happening, but managed only a twitch. If he hadn't been drugged or whatever they'd done to him, his body would be in panic mode right about now. But his breath was slowing and his vision showed only dark blurs. He could only tell what was going on from the fuzzy voices around him.

"Will the boy be alright? I need to ask him some... questions later." Autumn again.

"Yes, the effects will wear off in about an hour." The second soldier.

"Good, have him brought aboard as well." Colonel back-from-the-dead.

"What about the ghoul knocked out back there?" Another soldier.

His mind struggled to stay awake, but all of his senses were almost gone. The very last thing he heard before blacking out completely was horrible. _No, no no..._

"A _ghoul_? Get rid of it. Clean up any trace and rendezvous back at the vertibird in ten, soldier."

"Sir!"

The heavy thud of power armored steps.

_No…_

...


	32. Raven Rock

Lee awoke to a soothing hum. He could feel nothing around him, like he was weightless and floating. He was calm for the minute it took him to fully open his eyes and make sense of his surroundings. But as soon as his vision was working and he saw who was in front of him, his stomach wrenched and he thrashed as hard as he could. Which was not at all. He was suspended in a column of light, and it took a gargantuan amount of effort to even move his head. Colonel Autumn looked like he had been waiting for him to regain consciousness and stepped forward.

Lee stared at him yet again in disbelief. Autumn had no sign of any kind of damage from radiation; skin completely clear and hair immaculately smoothed down. Not to mention him even being alive and standing here now.

"Welcome back," he paused and glanced at a clipboard he was holding, "...Lee. I see you're awake and you can hear me just fine, so let's get down to business. All I want from you is the code to activate the purifier." He spread his hands and tried to affect a trustworthy smile. "Tell us what it is, and you'll be escorted safely off the premises with all of your belongings and not a scratch on you."

Lee was still slightly groggy from the effects of the explosion in the vault, but as Autumn talked, an angry buzz grew in his head. _Pfft. He wants the code. Of course if he's alive they took over the goddamn memorial._ He shut his eyes and, as calmly as possible, said, "Go fuck yourself, Enclave trash."

The fake smile that had been on Autumn's face dropped, and the lines around his eyes hardened. He approached the force field holding Lee and whispered, "I don't have the time to do this the hard way, but I will if you make me. Tell me the code and I won't make your last moments a screaming agony."

"Heh. Heh heh heh." Laughter bubbled up out of Lee. The room stood out to him in crystal clear lines and stark contrast. This stupid man... He brayed laughter as he watched Autumn's face turn confused, and then dark with anger. Lee started speaking, his voice going from a conversational tone to a rising scream. "You absolute idiot. I watched you kill Janice right in front of me. What for? To prove a point that you're some kind of hardass? You're the reason my _dad_ is dead. Why he'll never get to see his life's work realized. Before you abducted me, you ordered your men to kill my only goddamn friend! You're a thief and a murderer, and what? You think I'm going to do _anything_ to help you? THAT'D BE GENIUS IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A FUCKING MORON!" He spat against the field in front of him. If it hadn't been there, Autumn's face would've been very wet right now. He flinched back as if the shot had actually connected, and drew a laser pistol from his coat. Lee just watched the splat of saliva ooze down the force field, waiting for whatever would happen to him. As soon as he'd heard Autumn's first proposal of 'safety' he figured he'd be dead within a few minutes of telling him the activation code anyway. _Like I know what it is. Shit._ "Go on and kill me. That code could be anything and it's just eating you up isn't it. You have the purifier, and now you have the GECK, and the only thing standing between you and controlling all the clean water in the wastes is a single string of numbers. Sucks for you doesn't it." Lee's eyes were aflame and he felt an ugly, hard smile on his face.

Autumn looked livid. The hand on his pistol was clenched so hard his knuckles were white. He stalked up to the column Lee was floating in and brought the gun up, when a calm, almost lazy voice came floating down from a speaker above them.

"Colonel."

Autumn froze and tried unsuccessfully to smooth away the anger furrowing his face. "Yes, Mr. President," he answered stiffly. Lee raised his eyebrow. _President?_ The _president?_

"I have need of you elsewhere, Colonel. Please leave our guest to me and report to the hangar."

Autumn flinched, but after a moment holstered his gun and stalked to the door. He looked at Lee across the room. Lee could read the balked fury in his eyes, and figured he had about the same expression on his face. _You had better hope I don't see you again_ , the look said.

"Yes, sir." Autumn's voice was flat and emotionless. With a flap of his coat tail he exited the room, turned the corner, and was gone from sight _. Now what?_

"So, you're probably wondering 'Now what?'" came the voice again from the speaker. Lee started. _Good guess._ "I simply wish to speak to you in my quarters. The dear colonel has grown... shall we say, a little distant, not to mention unpredictable, and I'm in need of help from someone such as you. And let's do away with the restraints, shall we? No need for such barbarisms here."

The soft hum around him was abruptly cut off, and the weightlessness was gone with it. His legs wouldn't support him and he fell to his hands and knees, not used to the sudden return of gravity. Blood rushed to his head and he felt a wave of faintness as he knelt on the metal tiling.

"You'll find all your things in the locker here. Meet me on the top level so we can have our chat. I've instructed the good soldiers here to let you pass unmolested. Please don't dawdle." The speaker cut off.

Lee shivered. The voice sounded old-fashioned and kindly, even quaint, but something was missing from it. Kind of gave him the creeps. But without knowledge of where he was or how to get out, he couldn't really disobey. So he opened the locker and retrieved his gun, PipBoy, and his old, beaten leather backpack. His hand slid over the pocket that held Charon's contract and he had to fight back another wave of helpless fury.

He left the room, fully expecting the nearby power armored guard to open fire on him. But no, he just waved his gun at him as if to say move along. So he did, using the maps posted around the base he started making his way up to the top floor. There really was nothing else to do. _I have nothing left. If Eden does end up letting me out, what do I do? Just go back to Megaton like nothing happened? Pretend I never went to see dad, pretend I never met Charon?_ A spike of pain shot through his head and his eyes burned as he trudged through the halls. _Charon..._ The two most important people in his life were gone within the space of a few days. He resisted the urge to scream and sink down right there and give up. He felt like a robot, just putting one foot in front of the other. Left, foot, right foot. Swing arms alternately to maintain balance. He trailed through some kind of testing lab; glowing lights, more force fields, electronic gadgets, looking around but not really seeing. As he turned into a short hallway, he heard the overhead speakers crackle to life again.

"This is Colonel Augustus Autumn. Disregard any prior instructions concerning the wastelander currently roaming our halls. You are hereby ordered to shoot this intruder on sight." Hearing the smug satisfaction in his voice, Lee discovered he still had at least one thing he wanted to do: see Autumn into an early grave. _You think you won. I'm not going to die here of all places you smarmy asshole._

He was close to what was shown on the maps as the access stairs to the control room on the upper level of this place. With a little luck, he could make it through the remaining halls and up to where he needed to go. Crouching and holding his rifle and pack still, he glided through the base, carefully checking corners, and timing his dashes to avoid the patrolling guards.

He slipped around a corner as a pair of soldiers thudded by, and continued down the hall when it was safe. Good thing the helmets they wore made for terrible peripheral vision. At the far end of the hall he spotted a sign that said 'Raven Rock Level 3'. There it was. The staircase next to the sign would lead upwards to Eden and what was hopefully a way out. His heart wasn't completely in it, but he sprinted down the corridor before the patrols came back.

With absolutely no warning, a metal-covered arm shot out from a side door and curled around his neck. The final stretch and he'd been caught by an Enclave soldier waiting in a doorway. _Goddamnit._ He whipped his body back and forth, trying to shake off the grip he was in, but the soldier was much stronger than him. Frustrated and angry, he grunted and lunged forward, still trying to break away. Incredibly, a modulated voice came from the bug-eyed helmet behind his head, "Shh! Stop it, stop moving!" _Yeah, right._ He struggled even harder, and his captor spun around so Lee was facing into the room, and released him. Lee flew onto the floor and scrambled around, sweeping his rifle off his back.

The Enclave guy raised his empty hands in a surrender motion and took a step back. _Huh?_ He didn't know if it was a mistake or if the soldier was just stupid, but he wasn't going to pass this chance up. He raised his gun and took aim.

"Mouse!"

...

He stopped and lowered his gun, confused but still cautious. The soldier lowered one of his hands to the back of his neck, and there was a minute hiss as the helmet disengaged from the neck plate of the armor. The helmet came off and Charon's craggy, stoic face was there looking out.

"Look, I break in here to try to rescue you and this is the thanks I get, huh?"

The rifle fell out of Lee's hands and he just stood there staring. It felt like his mind had snapped. But then he catapulted himself across the room, laughing and watching his vision blur with tears as he jumped on the ghoul. _Alive!_ It was extremely hard to hug a suit of power armor, but he did his best as he kissed Charon's cheek and tried to formulate some kind of sentence.

"Wha...? How did you... even get here? Autumn sent that soldier to kill you... and, what happened?! Where even are we and _how did you get here_?" He punctuated his questions with thumps to the metal shoulder guards.

Charon laughed, "Settle down and I'll tell you." He took a step towards the door and pulled it shut. "Probably have a few minutes."

As Charon sat next to him on an overturned locker, Lee examined the Enclave armor and noticed Charon still had his leather set on underneath it. He made a questioning face, and Charon just shrugged. "Didn't wanna leave it and this thing was roomy enough. I like my armor."

"Yeah, it's hard to check you out when you're wearing this freaking tub," Lee flicked the metal shoulder with a shallow plink.

Charon rolled his eyes. He picked up the dark helmet he'd been wearing, looked at its "face" for a moment, and began talking.


	33. Infiltration

That one closed door was the only thing that saved Charon from being completely immobilized like Lee. The strangeness of it had caused him to backtrack a few steps, so when the explosion went off, he felt the crackle of just the outward edge of the electric field pass over him and only partly numb his muscles. Regardless of the severity, he was still in a bad way. His body wasn't obeying him, and he slumped against the wall in the hallway behind Lee. He couldn't talk, could barely move. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt his stomach sink as he recognized the feeling of _deja vu_ he was having. He opened his eyes again. Autumn and his retinue of soldiers appeared from a door that had been sealed shut when the two GECK seekers had entered the vault. After the initial shock of seeing a person he'd thought dead walking around, he stopped and rethought. _Ah, so that's how he survived at the memorial. If they're coming in from the main vault entrance, the Enclave have some way to resist extreme radiation._

He watched as Autumn kneeled by Lee and took the silver briefcase they'd come here to get. Lee's unconscious body was picked up by another soldier and taken away. This was bad. Not as bad as it could be, it looked like they needed him alive for something, but still pretty damn bad. He hadn't been caught by the full force of the blast, but he still felt muzzy and the best he could do was slowly drag his limp hand to his side to awkwardly reach for his knife sheathe. His heart was pounding and the lack of response from his limbs was infuriating. He could only wait there, eyes closed to slits, to see if the Enclave would leave him here or finish him off. One might be as good as the other, if they would just get close enough...

"What about the ghoul knocked out back there?"

_There. What's the answer going to be?_

"A _ghoul_? Get rid of it. Clean up any trace and rendezvous back at the vertibird in ten, soldier."

"Sir!"

Amazingly, the entire group headed out the door and this lone soldier was left to take care of the one loose end. Hopefully it was some new recruit assigned to do the dirty work because of his lack of experience. Charon watched his approach through his mostly closed eyes, and waited for an opening. This was going to be tough, regardless of how poorly-trained this person was. Everything had to be done by memory. He could move, but there was still no response from his body to his brain. He felt like he was remote-controlling a ragdoll or marionette. The soldier slowly approached and pulled out a plasma rifle, the green light from the barrel illuminating the dim hallway. The inexpert way he handled it gave Charon a bit of hope.

_Come on, get a little closer._

The soldier knelt down by Charon, nervously checking around to make sure no one was still there.

_Go ahead. You've never seen a ghoul up close before. Get a closer look, I won't bite._

He leaned in, glass eyes shining and the rifle carelessly pointing away at the floor.

_Less than ten minutes left. Here we go._

Charon's eyes snapped open, face twisting with the effort of his motions. The hand with the knife swept across his chest and stabbed into the soldier's gun hand, lifting it up and away. With a startled squawk, he let go of the gun which slid safely to the far corner of the corridor. Charon lifted his other hand and brought it down heavily on the helmet release. He couldn't feel if he'd grabbed it or not, but the helmet clicked out of place, and he quickly shoved it up and back from the soldier's head to clank to the floor. By now the soldier had the good sense to try to get away. He scrambled back on his hands and feet in a panic, but was quickly stopped by the wall close behind him. Charon felt a momentary pang of regret as he saw just how young the face under the helmet was, but he knew if given half a chance, the kid would kill him without a second thought.

Ordering his body to sit up, he lunged upright and sank his knife into the soldier's exposed throat. He gurgled and twitched as he died; after a minute his hands stopped grasping at the air, and fell back on the floor, still. Panting, Charon leaned over the power armored body with his eyes shut, gathering his strength to try and stand up. The numbness was wearing off, and he was running out of time. He unsteadily rose to his feet and shook out his arms, body feeling like he'd just woken up after a hard night of drinking. _He's supposed to meet them at the vertibird after he's done here. Do I kill them if they come looking? Or... ..._

His gaze fell again on the soldier. _This is fucking laughable... but it might work._ He leaned down and picked up the helmet from the floor, examining it before putting it over his own head. Surprisingly, it was big enough. _Very good._

Working quickly, he trial and error-ed his way into removing the leg armor and chestplate from the fallen soldier. Ripping a piece from the dead man's pants, he quickly removed his knife from its resting place in the neck, and pressed the cloth against the wound, stopping the spray of blood that would have followed. The armor set was thankfully, extremely large, and fit him workably well, even without removing his own armor. _I'll be amazed if this ridiculous masquerade works._ Aware his time was almost up, he grabbed the plasma rifle from the corner and set it on his own back, and held his shotgun as he walked as quickly as possible in the awkward armor to the exit. _I'll be damned if I leave this behind._

As he came into view of the vertibird he had a moment of doubt again. Hopefully these officers weren't personal friends with each other. If he was required to speak, they would immediately know something was wrong. Nothing to do about it though. If he had to make his last stand here, so be it. He casually swung into the open door of the squat flying machine and took a seat next to the rest of the power armored people. He buckled in and repressed a wince as the guy beside him turned and said, "What's that?" gesturing at the shotgun he was holding.

_Here goes._ Speaking in a higher pitch than usual, he answered, "Little souvenir from the ghoul." The asker laughed and nodded, and that seemed to be the end of it. His voice was heavily disguised by whatever kind of internal speaker the helmet used, and it had come out sounding almost like a normal human's. He inwardly sighed with relief and tried to will away the sheen of sweat that now covered his skin. He was much more at home meeting his enemies head on with his gun and his fists. Espionage and disguises gave him a headache.

The flight over the wasteland was admittedly amazing and, despite the circumstances, Charon enjoyed the view through a small porthole in the wall of the cabin. They were heading north; passing over wide swaths of what was once forest and over crumbled highway overpasses. He had no idea what would await them at what he assumed would be the Enclave's main base of operations. Autumn had the GECK and wanted Lee alive for something. The soldiers were separated from the rest of the passengers in the vertibird, so he couldn't see either of the two. Inside the helmet, he heaved a sigh and closed his eyes, waiting and trying to prepare for whatever would come up next.

The trip was short, and they soon touched down on a helipad hidden behind a tall rock face deep in the mountainous northwest region. The huge 'bird thumped to the ground, and the cargo door rolled back to let them out as the motor cut out and the spinning blades slowed to a stop. Charon hung back next to the hull to watch what the rest of the troops were doing. He turned and caught a glimpse of the front of the machine opening; Autumn and the soldier carrying Lee walked away and entered the base. It was infuriating to know Lee was so close, but he couldn't do a damn thing about it at the moment or risk getting them both killed. He turned away and looked around again at the landing area. More than a risk, it was a goddamn certainty with the automated turrets and constant presence of armed soldiers crammed into every available space.

He followed the rest of the group from the vault into the base and slipped away as soon as he was able. The anonymity afforded by the full helmets and armor with gloves and sleeves seemed like a grave security error to Charon, but he was happy to abuse the weakness. He spent quite a while pretending to be on patrol, but actually combing the base for any sign of or word on where Lee was being kept.

The search ended up being a lot of aimless wandering; it was damn near impossible to find anything in the endless corridors of identical doorways and halls. Not to mention how hard it is to search for something while trying very hard to look like you're not. A slightly panicked feeling was beginning to rise through him; it had been a long time since the vertibird had touched down and Autumn and Lee had vanished to wherever they had gone. He tried to squash down the feeling; Enclave base or no, if Charon couldn't find him, he trusted Lee's skill and his weird luck to get out of where they'd taken him.

As he walked, he heard President Eden's familiar voice come on over the loudspeaker:

"Today we have a guest with us from vault 101. When the esteemed colonel is done speaking with him, he will be joining me in my office. Let him by and don't hinder his progress in any way on pain of severe... chastisement. Thank you."

_Well now._ With a destination, he set off to find the way to where Eden stayed. The general energy from the people in the base had been amped up. Probably nothing much happened here on a daily basis, so anything out of the ordinary was something to be excited about. Keeping up the charade was extremely easy so far; just salute your fellow troops and act like you had somewhere to be and no one looked twice at you. ...But the power armor was starting to drag on him. Charon had never worn a set and it seemed there was some way of wearing it or moving in it that he wasn't quite getting. Walking and swinging his arms was only possible through brute force. He shook his head and kept going. The faster he found what he was looking for, the faster he could find Lee. Hopefully he could intercept him before he made it to the president's office.

On his way through the base, he found one door that was different than the rest: a small plaque was riveted to the frame that read 'Autumn'. He paused in his quest for Eden's room; if they were actually here, all the better. It was highly unlikely the colonel would be questioning Lee in his personal quarters or office, but he got ready to pull the gun from his back as he entered the door.

It was deserted. Charon felt a small bit of disappointment, but wasn't really surprised. The room was immaculately clean and neat; there were some equipment lockers, a bed and table, and a wide desk sat against the wall, the glow from a computer monitor illuminating the metal surface. It looked like Autumn had been in the middle of reading something and had then been called away quickly. Charon leaned over the screen and clicked through the menus, looking for anything interesting before he moved on. _Hello..._ A received message titled "Urgent: Information on the purifier"

_As per your instructions, gamma team has taken over "Project Purity" at the Jefferson Memorial and set up a perimeter to discourage any wasteland interference. We're working on setting and activating the force fields which should be done within the week, though we're still having some problems with the northwest pylon set IDF-0089 and IDF-0088. Our engineers believe they're on their last legs and are requesting replacements but they're making do with what they have for now._

_Our surveillance teams have been watching the head doctor's son and the second in charge of the project, Dr. Madison Li. They both somehow made it to the Brotherhood's Citadel. Dr. Li has stayed there, and we have no knowledge of what she has been doing, but the kid and a companion left the next day and struck out west._

_The techs have been thoroughly examining (and repairing) the equipment at the project itself and have come to the conclusion that there is one vital element missing from the construction. They've concluded it's a power source, something very small and compact but with incredible energy output._

_Putting that together with the direction the kid is heading, we've made pretty good guesses that they're heading for one of the ancient vaults to the west of D.C. to try and find this power source. They've been travelling for several days and should be almost to their destination. We don't have the Vault-Tec equipment needed to fully explore a vault without jeopardizing the integrity of the structure and the safety of any technology we may be after, so I suggest we let them retrieve the item for us. The time is quickly arriving, so at your command, I'll have a vertibird fueled and prepped and we can take a team to recover the power source from them and complete the purifier._

_Captain Dawson_

Well, this explained the creepy feeling they'd got while checking out the vault exterior; the Enclave had been right there watching them. The force fields at the memorial sounded bad, but that structural weakness might come in handy if they needed to storm the place. The rest of the message came as small surprise; Charon already knew they were in a race to determine who controlled the purifier.

As he moved to close the message, the overhead speaker came back on. "This is Colonel Augustus Autumn. Disregard any prior instructions concerning the wastelander currently roaming our halls. You are hereby ordered to shoot this intruder on sight."

Charon's hair prickled and his eyes widened behind the glass lenses. _Hell._ Time was now a precious commodity. He exited the screen and had already stepped away when something caught his eye. He knew he needed to hurry but this looked too good to pass up. A subfolder titled Personal Notes. He opened it and scrolled through to the last entry, written earlier today.

_Sep 27. 2278_

_I'm becoming increasingly uneasy about President Eden. Over the years I've worked here for the Enclave, his judgments have always been sound and I've had no problems following his orders and carrying out his requests, but recently his plans have become more... I don't know how to put it other than maniacal. Especially in regards to this purifier we've been trying to seize for years. It's finally in our hands, and what Eden suggested we do with it is positively hair-raising. This will be used only as a last resort, but if he forces the issue, after days of searching through our archives I finally have the code that will override his master terminal and set Raven Rock into a self-destruct sequence. I pray I don't have to use it._

_Priority Override, Authorization code 420-03-20-9_

_A. Autumn_

Charon hastily scribbled down the code and wedged it into the trigger guard of his shotgun. _No idea what his problem is with Eden, but that definitely seems potentially useful._ He walked back out into the hall. Alarms were sounding and flashing lights went off around the edges of the halls, throwing fans of amber light across the walls and walkways. The base was on high alert and he began to see armored people walking quickly by with weapons drawn.

He was near the hallway that had the only access to the president's office, as far as he could tell from the layout maps of the base. He set off, following the troops streaming by. Once he arrived he picked a room to wait in, leaned against the metal doorjamb, and crossed his fingers. If Lee had made it out, he would have to come this way.


	34. Hail to the Chief

"So here we are," Charon finished. "And here is your present, right from Colonel Autumn's personal files." He untucked the folded square of paper and handed it over to Lee, who opened it and read the contents. "I don't know where it's used, but I have a feeling we'll know the "master terminal" if we see it."

Lee re-folded the paper and placed it in his shirt pocket as he paced around the room. His heart was thumping and he hadn't been able to sit still through the story; partly a mix of excitement from Charon being alive again (throughout the telling, Lee had been unable to stop reaching over and touching the ghoul's arm or back to make sure he was really there) and partly from the prospect of getting out of here and back to the memorial. He kept well away from a small pile of armored bodies tossed in the corner. After some prompting, Charon disclosed that they had walked by him and had "started getting a little too curious" of what he was doing waiting in an empty room. Lee paced up and down the other side of the room, occasionally snapping his fingers distractedly. "Man, I can't believe that guy. If we see him again, we are _not_ letting him get away."

Charon hrmphed as he picked up his helmet again, "Agreed."

"So we're where now?"

"A spot in the mountains pretty far north of vault 87 called Raven Rock. Currently the main compound for the remnants of what was once the United States Armed Forces."

"Oh boy, that's a nice walk back," Lee scratched his head and brushed his hair back. "Well, hell. Should we go see what the president wants?"

"I don't know how else to get out, so yes. Let's." Charon slid the helmet back on, locking it in place, and drew the plasma rifle he'd kept with him. "We're close to his office, but how about I walk you there like this, just in case?"

Lee laughed at the strangely synthesized voice coming from the helmet, "You sound just like one of them."

Charon waved the gun at Lee and in his robotic voice said, "Move it along, citizen."

Lee's face turned more serious and he beckoned Charon to the door. He pulled the door open, and Charon walked out first, scanning the long hall for any movement. The alarms and lights were still going full swing, but there were no soldiers this way. Charon stepped out into the hall and Lee came out behind him, hurrying a bit to lead the way. They found the stairwell that lead upwards to the highest level of the base, and they started up.

The third floor was eerily quiet. No soldiers, no alarms, no emergency lights. They walked through the halls and ended up at the end, with the only room they'd come across.

"Wow," Lee said, looking upwards. The chamber was huge. A towering edifice of cables, catwalks, and industrial-sized computer shells stretched up and up, reaching to the very high ceiling. The two of them stood at the bottom of the construction, feeling suitably dwarfed. Lee made his way around the base of the tower and confirmed that there were no other doors out. "The only way is up."

They walked up the narrow stairs, getting unobstructed views of the inner workings of the computers. Bunches of wires hung like thick vines, and a soft white light lit everything from within, the only source of light in the dark room besides the flickering buttons and displays. The walkway even continued _through_ the arrangement of computer pieces; Charon elbowed aside a cable as thick as his arm that was hanging in the way. They made it to the top, and saw a door directly in front of them. Lee reached for the button, and stopped as a voice spoke behind them:

"Ah, I'm pleased you could make it."

Lee's flesh crawled with terror at the unexpected greeting, and froze in his tracks. They'd reached the top and nothing had been there but more electronics, right? He couldn't see what Charon's face looked like at the moment, but he could tell he had also been taken by surprise by the stiff way he was standing. The two slowly turned around and beheld what they'd come to see.

An enormous glowing monitor dominated the steel wall rising behind them. More cables criss-crossed the room, and an opening in the ceiling let in daylight, giving an unearthly, almost angelic look to the console before them. A pre-war American flag was suspended above the screen, lending a kind of haggard jollity to the scene. Eden spoke again, the single white line on the screen pulsing with the cadence of his voice, "Soldier, I thank you for escorting our friend here to me. You may return to your duties."

Lee glanced at Charon and back to the screen. "He's uh... with me."

" _Really_ ," Eden sounded surprised. "This is highly irregular, but if it is so, stay, by all means."

The set-up was impressive, but Lee wondered about the strange situation of their meeting. _Why had he called him here only to talk to them though another speaker? Fear? That didn't make any sense..._ "Why aren't you here in person?"

Eden chuckled, the entire screen beating with light. Lee shivered at the unnatural sound; it was like listening to a corpse laugh.

"I am what you see before you. Not a person, but an Artificial Intelligence housed within a ZAX line supercomputer, one of the most advanced models created before the war, and after if I dare say. I don't exactly have the privilege of speaking to you face-to-face as it were, but this is the best that I can do. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Stunned, Lee managed a subdued "Likewise." An actual AI... He'd read about such things, but they'd always seemed well within the realm of fiction. He didn't really know how to proceed. He glanced back at Charon, who gave a small shrug. No help there. Throat dry he asked, "So what can I do for you? You said you needed my help?"

"Quite. Let's get down to the matter at hand then." Lee found himself subconsciously analyzing the voice now. How human did he really sound? "A little history is needed to explain what I'm going to ask you, I suppose. The Enclave has always had the end goal of restoring America to its former glory. Stamping out the petty raiders, the Brotherhood," Despite being an AI, Eden had an impressive range of emotion in his voice. Lee could almost see the disdainful sneer as he said 'Brotherhood'. "...and most important of all, purging the wastes of any and all mutations. The super mutants, ghouls, indeed, most of the remaining population has become infected in some way.

"Mutation is the problem. The Enclave can't stop it alone, and as you can see, I lack certain freedoms. I'm putting a great deal of trust in you, you know. There are very few people who know the true identity of John Henry Eden. And now with Colonel Autumn's... dissension, I'm left with precious few options. This is where you come in."

Eden paused, and Lee thought over what he'd said. "You want me to help you get rid of all mutation in the wasteland...?" What he was suggesting sounded monstrous, but they were here at his mercy, more or less, so they had to hear him out. And despite his revulsion, he was somehow curious to hear exactly how he planned such widespread ...purging. "That doesn't sound possible."

The creepy chuckling again. "On the contrary, it's very possible, and very simple." A panel slid open below the monitor, revealing an unadorned metal canister. "What you see before you is a modified version of FEV, the virus that caused the creation of the super mutants in the first place. This particular strain is lethal to any and all beings that have somehow been infected by the original FEV, or tainted with mutations from radiation. It was made to be dispersed through water supply, which is why you are an obvious choice."

Lee stared at the innocent-looking jar sitting on the panel in front of him. He notoriously had a terrible poker face, and now was no exception. He couldn't keep the horrified grin off his face as his skin flushed hot, then icy cold in the next second. He turned to look back at Charon once again. The ghoul was motionless; he faced the president's console and said nothing. In a considerably more calm voice than what he felt, he turned back to Eden and said, "If this is released, it'll kill everyone in the wastes."

"Well, not _everyone_. The Enclave still consists of pure humans, and those that live in vaults will more than likely be immune, given their seclusion. Even you, I expect, won't suffer any ill effects from it. But you're correct; sacrifices must be made for the greater good of the country. There must be a cleansing of the diseased tissues before healthy regrowth can begin again, as I'm sure you know."

Lee thought back on what Charon had told him about the note on Autumn's computer, especially that the things Eden was doing had become "maniacal". That was a perfect word to describe this. How could he think eradicating nearly all life in the wastes with a virus would solve anything? If he agreed with Autumn on anything at all, it would be this: this could not be allowed to continue. Luckily for him, unlike Autumn he had no qualms at all about wrecking this place. An ugly thought interrupted him. "That thing is sealed, right?"

"Of course it is. We wouldn't want it to be wasted before it can be put into the purifier," Eden answered, completely misunderstanding Lee's cause for alarm. "So. Do we have an accord? Regardless, I can't let you leave before you take the virus with you. And of course, when this task is complete, I am in need of a new right-hand, so to speak, and I would be happy to have you fill the position."

_Right, he needs a new puppet to command._ Jerkily, Lee reached out the few meager feet to the canister and picked it up. As soon as the jar left the table, he heard the door unlatch and open behind him. The metal was cold against his sweating palms, and the previous assurance of its structural safety didn't comfort him much. He was holding death in his hands.

And they were free to go. It was time. Lee reached into his shirt pocket and pulled the slip of paper inside free. He hoped this room wasn't equipped with some kind of hidden gun turret to stop something like this from happening, but it was too late to worry about that. He looked up, and in a clear, carrying voice, he said, "I won't help you kill off the rest of this country. Priority override, authorization code four two zero zero three two zero nine."

A grating click sounded from the console before them. Eden's voice spoke again, but it was robotic and sounded no more human than a protectron. "Code accepted. This facility is set to self-destruct in 10 minutes. Citizens are advised to immediately vacate the premises. System shut down is commencing. Countdown begins now." And he would speak no more.

Lee placed the FEV canister at the base of the computer and wiped his hands off on his pants. The complete destruction of this place would likely incinerate the container, or at least permanently bury it here. He turned around to Charon and the open door. Charon's voice came from the helmet's speaker sounding strained, "I guess Autumn wasn't kidding. I can't believe what he was preparing to do. I feel kind of sick."

"I do too... Jesus Christ. Let's just get out of here already."

They ran through the door and through the halls, following the trail of lights along the floor. With that ten minute limit, they didn't bother with stealth anymore; Lee ran ahead and Charon fired a bolt of plasma at anyone who looked like they were trying to pull their weapon free. Which wasn't many. An announcement had been broadcast over the base, and everyone was trying to get out. Most of the time they'd been given had already run out, and it looked like many of the soldiers would be trapped here. _I'll send a memo next time_ , Lee thought sourly.

As they passed a large window, Charon said conversationally, "Oh, there goes Autumn." Lee slid to a halt and reversed, looking through the glass. There he was. Boarding a vertibird that was being raised on an elevated platform. He looked worried, but not outright panicked like the rest of the Raven Rock staff. "Heading back to the memorial probably. C'mon, we gotta go." Charon pulled at his arm and he let himself be dragged away.

They came to the end and stumbled outside, pushing the slow hydraulic door open and pelting out into the cold morning air. The sun hadn't risen yet, and the world was still dark. Charon tore his helmet off and tossed it aside, the need for the disguise over. They had their first breath of fresh air since they'd descended into Little Lamplight, seemingly ages ago, and both felt a weight lift from their chests with the thrill of being free again. They ran down the old pavement of a street that passed close to the base, finally coming to a stop atop the closest overpass, panting for breath. Lee hoped it was far enough, he had no idea how deep or wide Raven Rock stretched underground. The blast radius could be enormous.

He didn't have to wait long to find out. A deep thudding boom echoed out across the world. The two stood there, dark smudges against the darker ground, and watched as a bloom of fire erupted from the mountain face they'd just escaped from. Despite being so far away, they could both feel the baking heat coming from the blasts. Explosion after explosion rolled out from the rocks, the two watchers' lungs thudding with the shockwaves that passed over them. Vertibirds were still taking off as the base collapsed into a fiery blot; some made it away, and others caught aflame, spiraling down and crashing or simply exploding in the air to add to the symphony of noise. It seemed to go on forever; fire and smoke belching forth in even thicker clouds. But after a time, it was done. Raven Rock was buried, along with the former president and his virus.

Lee leaned against the concrete guardrail and watched the columns of smoke rising from the base, dissipating into nothingness as it was pulled apart by the light morning breeze. Charon started pulling off the set of power armor he still had on, piece by piece, and dropping each bit off the side of the overpass. When he was done, he breathed a sigh of relief and glanced over at Lee, laughing at what he saw. Lee's head had drooped forward and he was already lightly snoring. Charon moved next to him and nudged him gently.

"Mmph?!" Lee jerked back awake. "Yeah." He wavered on his feet. With the terror and adrenaline gone, his energy had gone with it, and it had been a long time since his last night's sleep. In a slurred voice, he said, "Listen, we have to get back there and take the purifier back. He's already got the GECK installed and ..." He was already starting to totter away down the asphalt, and Charon grabbed him easily.

"You're falling asleep on your feet."

Lee shook his head angrily, hair flopping around his face. "If he has enough time to work on it, they can probably figure out a way to circumvent the passcode and start it up without it. We have some time but not a lot, we gotta go."

Charon pulled him to a stop again and grabbed him in an embrace. "Determination is good, but don't kill yourself trying to rush it. We'll get there."

Lee let his breath out and nodded against the familiar leather-clad chest. Charon was right... he was just tired of being fucked with at every turn. He could _not_ let Autumn have control of the purifier.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, okay. You're right."

Charon held him back at arm's length and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Lee smiled wearily and looked around again. The sun would rise soon; the sky was lightening towards a pearly grey, and the first streaks of light were beginning to peek through the clouds.

"Here, hop on and you can sleep while I walk, we'll make up for a little lost time that way," Charon turned and squatted down, letting Lee clamber on and drape his arms over the big shoulders.

His eyes were already closed before they left the highway, soothed by Charon's warmth and the gentle rhythm of his footsteps. He laid his head on the ghoul's back, and murmured, "Thanks Charon. We're gonna make it, right?..." He dropped off to sleep before he could hear Charon's answer, so Charon answered the sun rising before them instead.

"Yeah, we'll make it."


	35. No Vacancy

"Y'know what we should've done... taken one of their vertibirds." Lee was still worrying about the window of time they had. He'd set a fast pace, and even though the trip back was longer than the way there thanks to the forced detour, only two day's walk had taken them most of the way back to D.C.

Charon had been trying to quell Lee's frantic state of mind by alternating reassurances with threats of breaking his legs, which had been somewhat successful, but they were still walking hard without let up. A ride in a vertibird would have been nice, but it was a bit beyond the realm of possibility. Charon said, "Sure, you know how to fly one?"

That gave Lee a moment of pause. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and muttered, "Eh, yeah, well... shut up."

"We're going as fast as we can. Don't worry so much. Autumn isn't going to crack that thing by himself."

Lee nodded and heaved a sigh; he closed his eyes and appeared to try to calm himself by consulting with his inner being. He slowed his pace, and in a deep voice he intoned, "I am calm. I am at peace."

Charon smiled a little as they continued on, re-routing around a hilly formation of rocks. Getting there on time wasn't what was worrying him; it was more the question of what kind of communications Colonel Autumn had with the rest of the Enclave. He had a vague feeling of unease regarding retaliation from whatever forces were left out here, and some slight apprehension at how many people Autumn would have with him to defend the memorial. As a general rule, scouting Enclave troops weren't hostile to traveling wastelanders, but the two of them were now enemy number one as far as they were concerned. There were no obvious signs of any Enclave forces as they walked, but Charon stayed on guard, regardless. The last thing they needed was another surprise attack.

Looking over, he caught a glimpse of Lee's pale, drawn face and the dark circles under his eyes. He was still mourning his father, and it seemed he was beating himself up about the Enclave ambush and Autumn getting away a second time. He had a strained, haggard look that Charon didn't like, and the ghoul silently lamented how delicate human bodies were. But in another day's worth of traveling they would be back at the Citadel and they could finally scrape together a quick plan with the elder and head paladins, if they would go for it, and take back the memorial. Then they could really have a rest. Probably.

Charon knew Lee didn't want to work with the Brotherhood at all if he could help it, but the sad truth was that they needed them. He could only assume Lee had already come to the same conclusion. But in order to get any kind of commitment, they would probably have to give up the only bargaining chip they had: the purifier. Lee could activate it, Dr. Li and company were there to keep it running, and the Brotherhood was the lesser of two evils when it came to who had enough knowhow to do the maintenance and enough manpower to keep it defended. _Great, that's all settled then_ , Charon mused as he walked. _I only hope it turns out that easy_.

It would be dark soon; the sun was low on the horizon and covered in a scrim of clouds. A few pale stars could be seen overhead, and the warmth of the day was fading into a thin, chill wind.

"We're stopping there for the night," Charon said, pointing a finger at a good-sized building in the distance. It looked like some kind of fancy brick office complex, or hopefully an apartment building. It was still too far to tell. Lee looked like he wanted to protest and make them walk through the night, but let his mouth snap closed after a brief internal debate. They had time enough to take a rest. And he was bushed. It had been an exhausting past few days, and his legs were sore and feet blistering from the hard walking. Charon continued on after the outburst didn't come, "We're going to have to present our case to the Brotherhood elder to get their help..." (Lee groaned) "...and we both need to eat some actual food and get some actual sleep so we can function tomorrow."

"I've been eating!" came the indignant response.

Charon shot a look at Lee, "I shouldn't have to tell you this, but cereal and snack cakes do not count as food."

After a second of thought, Lee put his hands up in surrender, "Okay! Fine." He smiled and shook his head. "Fine... Guess a bed and some dinner wouldn't be too bad." The building loomed directly in front of them, and seeing it close-up revealed it to be some kind of hotel. "This looks good... Hope it still has beds; last soft thing I slept on was at the Citadel... Feel like a deathclaw walking around." He hunched his shoulders and slumped his back and lumbered forward as they stepped onto the cracked asphalt of the parking lot. Charon rolled his eyes and gave Lee a light push, which sent him stumbling away laughing.

The building was comprised of the front reception area and what looked like at least twenty or so rooms; the rest of the structure had been blasted into unrecognizable rubble. It wasn't a tall hotel; it looked like the layout had been long and only a few floors high rather than the more impressive monolithic tower style. The two stopped in front of the entrance, looking and listening for any signs of life within. Nothing apparent and the only sounds around them were the usual scavenger birds calling to each other far overhead. Lee reached out and tried the copper-colored handle on one of the big double doors. It swung open easily, not even squeaking with rust or scraping against the threshold. The motion of the door pulled a draft of cool, stagnant air out past them. The interior was gloomy, but dim sunset light fell in dusty shafts from uncovered windows and ragged holes in the ceiling, illuminating the threadbare carpet and a chandelier that had to have been tawdry even when it was new. The two stepped forward into the foyer and looked around at the peeling plaster walls and broken wooden furniture.

"Whatcha think?" Lee asked, voice sounding overloud in the still air. Compared to some places they'd had to hole up at for rest, this was palatial. And having a room to sleep in would be a nice change of pace. He was starting to miss his shack in Megaton.

"Looks good enough." Charon shrugged and walked further into the lobby, examining the front desk. "Take a look around and make sure nothing's hiding."

Lee flashed the OK sign at him and split off to a long hallway lined with side rooms connected to the main lobby. He eyed the extensive row of doors. _This is going to take forever_. He pulled out his gun and rested it on his shoulder just in case, and in a surprisingly decent tenor, sang out, "Come flyyyy with me, let's fly, let's fly away..." The acoustics in here were dreadful, but the words carried well enough throughout the section of hallway. If anything was here, it heard that.

Charon turned around, surprised at the unexpected noise and laughed a little when he realized what it was. _Fly indeed, sounds like Lee's still hung up on that vertibird_. He drew his shotgun in preparation for the charge of any alerted inhabitants, but the place was still as dully quiet as ever, between verses of the singing anyway. He heard Lee's voice moving along in the corridor behind him, "If you can uuuuse some exotic booze, there's a bar in far Bombaaaaaay..." Charon knocked on the wall separating them, and heard an answering knock further down. The next line was hummed, and Lee's head poked around the corner on the far side of the room. "What's Bombay?"

Satisfied that the place was abandoned, Charon set his gun on his back and went to catch up with Lee who had already kicked down one of the numbered doors. "It's a city in a country called India. Entire other side of the world." They could use the collapsed rooms to build a cooking fire, letting the open air carry away the smoke. He cleared a space and started building, and Lee quickly joined in, piling up kindling and searching through his pack for components of their supper.

"Have you ever been there?"

Charon had to think about that for a moment. "I don't think so. Not post-war, and I don't think I traveled much outside the United States pre-war. Didn't have the time or money." A flick of a lighter and the fire was started; the warmth felt good against the rapidly cooling evening air. They'd have to find a room that hadn't been torn in half for sleeping in, but this was ideal for venting the small, smoky fire they'd built.

"Pre-war..." Lee murmured as he poked the fire around into a better configuration. He'd threaded strips of mole rat meat onto metal skewers and leaned them against the short pyramid of the fire after it died down a little. They never came out evenly cooked, with one end being charred and the other extremely rare, but to hell with carrying around pots and pans. "If you don't mind my asking... how old _are_ you exactly?"

Charon had been gazing into the fire, arms wrapped solidly around his knees, and he now rocked back with his face pointed at the dark sky and broken hotel room ceiling. He grumbled as he thought. "It's now... two-hundred one years past what some people called the Big Sunset. I was older than you are when it happened, but not by much, I don't think. My time as a human is most of what I can't really remember." He caught a look from Lee when he glanced back down. "It's strange. Don't really know how to... hmm. It's as if someone paints a picture in watercolor, then accidentally drops a cup of water on it while it's still wet. Some tiny bits are still there, you can see it was meant to be a painting, but almost all of it is just a big washed-out smear." The term 'watercolor' was lost on Lee, but he got the gist of what it meant. He felt a renewed pang of sadness for the ghoul; losing your past was a scary thought. Charon nodded to himself. "Two-hundred twenty-eight years old sounds about right."

Lee had shared out the skewers of meat and they ate as they talked. He knew ghouls lived a long time, but he was floored again at the sheer amount of time Charon had been alive. That was around four normal human lifetimes, if said human could avoid raiders, rads, monsters, and the all-around fun one, starvation. "So are ghouls immortal or what?"

Charon laughed around a mouthful of mole rat, then paused and actually considered the question seriously. "Well... in the most basic sense of it... I think so. I've never heard of a ghoul dying of old age." He chewed and swallowed, letting the skewer stick dangle from his outstretched fingers. It pendulumed back and forth, catching glints of firelight. "We die from bullets, asphyxiation, poison if it's strong enough, getting stabbed, and I even saw a guy get pushed off a building (he didn't make it)... but, no, dying of natural causes doesn't seem to happen." Charon dropped the skewer into Lee's pack with a soft clink and stretched his arms out. "And now it's time for sleep. Or at least time to find a suitable room."

"'Kay, pack up my stuff, I'll be right back." Lee returned to the hallway and ducked into the bathroom to fill up a few bottles with water for the remaining embers of their fire. The hotel might be ugly, but there was no need to set fire to the thing while they were in it. Lee poured one in and scuffed the ashes with his boot until the remains were just a muddy spot on the bare linoleum floor.

With the fire gone, it was nearly pitch black in the building; moonlight shone through the cracked ceiling, but it only gave a very dim glow to the place. Armed with Lee's flashlight, they walked back to the front part of the hotel and found a good enough room on the second floor. Small, box-like, and bare of all but the necessities, but the bed was unbroken, everything was relatively clean, and the door still pulled nearly flush against the jamb. There was a smaller door near the bed, Charon rightly guessed it had once been a double room with the door leading to the room adjacent to theirs, and the far wall was covered with a curtain. Lee pulled it open and could see the parking lot and the hills stretching away in the distance under the faint light of the moon and stars. Charon pulled up a cushioned chair and sat back in it, letting Lee flop heavily onto the bed and sneeze with the resulting puff of dust.

"Pfah," he squinted and fanned at the air. There was a low night table beside the moth-eaten bed, and he laid his PipBoy on it so the glow from the screen could do what it could to illuminate the room. Lee rolled over onto his side and propped his head up with a hand. His body was tired but his mind was still wide awake. Sleep would be a long ways coming if he tried to just drop off now. "Tell me about your life, Charon."

The ghoul raised an eyebrow, "What, the whole thing?"

"Unless you've got somewhere to be, sure."

Charon frowned. "Shouldn't you be resting, kid?"

"Look, I'm resting!" he gestured at himself, "And we haven't really had time to talk lately anyway. I miss your stories."

Charon's mouth twitched up into a faint smile. He shrugged with resignation and said, "If that is what you wish, very well. Ask, and I'll tell you what I can."

Lee grinned. _Score_. "Alright, start with something easy. What's some useless piece of trivia about you that doesn't really matter?"

The ghoul rolled his eyes and shifted back in his chair. He drew an old square of cotton cloth from a pocket, and slowly set to work dismantling his shotgun. Lee had seen him clean the parts many times and he watched the process again, relaxed by the quiet routine. Charon paused, "Useless trivia... how's this? I'm ambidextrous but I write left-handed."

"Huh, that's pretty neat. Okay... what's your favorite song on the radio?"

"I kind of hate them all. Three Dog doesn't have much of a selection, and the Ninth Circle had GNR on almost every day. The one I hate the least, I guess, is Let's Go Sunning. She sounds cute."

Lee laughed as he rolled onto his back again. 'Cute' wasn't a word he'd expected to hear from Charon. He looked up at the cracked ceiling for a while, and then turned back to watch Charon's ragged, but deft fingers wiping down and categorizing all the tiny mechanisms and pieces from his gun. The bed was starting to feel more comfortable, and he sank in further.

"Who was the best contract owner you've had? Besides yours truly, of course."

Charon snorted. "There've been plenty of shit heads but a few that were tolerable, yeah. Or even pretty decent human beings, funny as that is to think of." He'd finished with his gun and started re-assembling the scattered bits into a cohesive whole with a series of soft clicks and snaps. "There was a lady named... Helen, I think it was. If you can imagine a grandmotherly slaver that was her."

"Tell me about her," Lee said, dangling an arm off the bed.

"Helen was... late fifties, early sixties. A kind of pudgy older lady with greying hair. She won my contract off a guy named Jack in a game of cards. This was in some shithole town out west near the Great Lakes in a bar called The Vixen. They played a few hands of poker, and the last I saw of Jack he'd dropped his cards on the floor and was staring after us with this dazed look on his face. He'd challenged her because she looked like an easy mark. He got suckered in by Helen's silly blathering and fake air of ditziness and vulnerability. Lots of people did. I knew what she was doing though, as soon as she sat down at Jack's table with her drink and her frilly purse. It was her eyes. They were too sharp and watchful for the façade she was putting up. She was a good one though. Much smarter than she looked, but she was never cruel and didn't scheme against those she called her friends. Always treated me and the others in her employ fairly. Even gave us allowances of what she liked to call 'shopping money', which I'm sure just tickled her.

"Jack, on the other hand, I was glad to get away from. Arrogant, flashy, and careless because he was sure I'd always be there to bail him out of trouble. I was, but that's a stupid attitude to get. He had a tamed mountain lion that followed him around. I honestly liked the lion more than Jack. Ferocious in a fight, but always ready for an ear scratch or belly rub during down time. I wonder where they ended up." Charon leaned the now-clean shotgun against the arm of his chair, laced his fingers together and stretched his arms out and up, hands coming to rest locked behind his head. "Not sleepy yet?"

In truth, Lee was almost ready to pass out, but he liked hearing Charon's stories more. Imagining the people and places he'd seen was always great. So he shook his head. "D'you remember anything about the Commonwealth?"

Charon closed his eyes and grumbled deep in his throat. "Mmmm... the Commonwealth. In an area that used to be called Massachusetts. It's a wreck. Most of it is just a lot of blasted nothing; craters, empty stretches of mud plains, tiny settlements of raiders and war bands. The Institute is the shining gem in all that, as it were."

Lee raised an eyebrow.

Charon shrugged. "Maybe I've given you the wrong idea about it. As a personal experience it was awful; old life erased and born again empty. But there's plenty of good stuff that goes on there too. Good and bad, it's all about scientific advancement. Some of it helps mankind in easy to see, straightforward ways, other things may be more convoluted. I don't like what happened to me but I try not to be bitter about it. Too much."

"What's something really sad that you've seen?"

"People filling a mass grave for a town they were reclaiming and trying to repopulate. They dug a huge hole in the ground, lined it with tarps, and removed bodies from the city by the truck full. Seeing the ... just _endless_ drifts of skeletons and mummified people made me really think about what we've done to ourselves. We let things get so bad with other human beings that we nearly wiped ourselves out. Hard to see how it could go so far" The ghoul frowned into the carpet, face agitated.

The answer had come quickly, it sounded like something that had really weighed heavy on him. "Ghouls usually separate themselves from humans if it's ever brought up."

"Hmph. Yeah, most do. I don't buy that though, we're still as human as we ever were. Look and sound a little different, but we still walk and talk and think just the same." Charon shifted forward in the moth-eaten chair, elbows on knees and hands hanging. "One more and then we have to sleep."

"Yeah, alright." Lee's jaw stretched in a yawn. "What's a really memorable place you've been to?"

"Let's see... down south of here along the coast is a huge region called the Gulf. I was there with some fool of a merchant who called himself Senator. Out of shape blowhard who was looking for an easy score of some undisturbed treasure hoard so he could stop travelling and be set for life. I can tell you right now, things like that are few and far between out here, and they are never easy to get.

"But where we were was practically a jungle. The people that lived there were wild. Huge clans of tribal people: warriors, gatherers, trappers, wise women, witch doctors. There were perfectly good houses and buildings a little further inland, but nearly all of them chose to live in the swamps, mostly on tall platform houses in the trees. At night, if you picked a clear spot with a view, you could see all the treetops light up with the candles and torches they lit to see by.

"And the swamp itself... a mess of muddy water, saw grass, cypress trees that look like bones, and a low-hanging mist that was almost always there. It was really something to see, but it'd be tough to find a more dangerous place. The locals were distrustful as a rule, quickmud was always there to suck your shoes off and drag you down, the entire region was highly radioactive, and the things that came out of the swamp..."

Charon smiled and shook his head.

"Deathclaws are the meanest thing out here, but down there they had mutant alligators. Scaly, thirty foot long monsters that were nearly undetectable in the swamp water and underbrush. Sometimes you could hear them growling and avoid them, but mostly you just had to watch and hope you were faster. Practically go blind staring so hard into the fog looking for something that probably wasn't there."

Lee had closed his eyes, imagining the dense trees and standing water. The terror of being unable to see more than five feet in front of you and hearing the drips and crashes come from all around you, disoriented and confused. But also the comfort of being able to climb up out of the muck and watch over the sea of mist in your own shelter in the trees. He hoped he could see something like that someday.

"Did Senator ever find his treasure?"

A disdainful laugh. "No, he didn't. Not there anyway. He hated the constant wet and dealing with radiation sickness all the time. And there were quite a few times when his blundering nearly got him snatched him into the water. When the swampfolk finally got fed up with his brashness and disrespect of them he wasn't too sorry to leave."

"Sounds like an amazing place."

"It really was. To think that there's stuff like that out there to see and I was stuck in Ahzrukhal's bar for so long. Waste of my time and talents." Charon glanced over at Lee lying on the bed. "You know why I hated him so much?"

Lee had always figured it was because the wheezy ghoul was a horrid asshole who lied and stole when it was convenient for him, but it sounded like there was something more. He shook his head, "No."

"Because he had no imagination. He was boring. There was more to it, but that was the most uniquely offensive thing about him." Then, more briskly, "And now, no more talking. Sleep so we can leave in the morning and make it to the Citadel early."

Eyes still shut, Lee smirked and saluted at the ceiling, "Yes, captain." He flailed and his eyes flew open as a mouth descended on his and gave him a kiss. Charon had stood up and snuck next to him without him noticing, and now flopped back down in his chair.

"Quit bein' a wiseass and sleep." Charon closed his own eyes with an amused smile and folded his arms over his chest.

Grumbling quietly, Lee rolled over on the ancient hotel bed and after a long while of staring at the PipBoy light cast on the curling wallpaper, fell asleep.

Lee dreamed. He was in the reactor room of Vault 101 again. He was younger, or at least shorter, and someone was with him, a friend. He felt anxious, but nothing around them seemed wrong. He walked past the huge capacitor hubs and checked behind it. Nothing strange. His friend, a familiar-feeling entity with an out-of-focus face in a vault suit, stood behind him.

"They're coming, Mouse."

Then he could hear it. A deep siren, the wail of it rising and falling. And the thump of many feet running from far away but getting closer. The feeling of fear doubled.

The friend grabbed his shoulders, spun him around. Lee looked up into the shifting, changing face of his fellow vault dweller.

"Mouse, you have to go. They're coming. Wake up, okay? Wake up."

He could feel his arms and hands, the real ones, as he struggled to escape the dream. He could still see the vault lights and hear the low siren as he tried to open his eyes.

"Wake up..."

It worked. He sucked in a breath and stared up at the green-tinged ceiling, blinking and coming back to reality. He was back in control of his arms and let his breath rush back out. _Weird dream, what the hell..._

A low sniffle came from his left. His body froze. Charon's chair was to his right. Feeling the vertebrae in his neck creaking, he turned to look beside him. A face, not unlike Charon's, but more gaunt and wild-looking was peeking over the edge of the bed. The milky eyes were fixed right on his own, and the thing's hand came up and settled on the edge of the bed. The last of his sleepiness fell away in an instant and he shouted out in terror and surprise and scrambled back up against the headboard.

The sound awoke Charon, who immediately snatched his gun from the floor and fired after a split-second assessment of the threat. The feral's body wavered and fell back onto the floor with a wet thump. Their ears rang with the thunder of the shot.

Lee's voice was hoarse with tiredness and the unexpected strain he'd just put on his vocal cords. "Thanks. But... ugh, fuckin' guh-ross." He raised his hands in front of him and looked down at his gore-soaked shirt. The ghoul had been shredded about a foot away from him and Lee's entire head and torso was covered in sticky blood and tiny slivers of skin and... _tissue_. "Well. No more sleep." He flicked his hands downward and heard the tiny splat of the stuff hitting the floor. _Guess I was due for a bath anyway, he thought_ , minorly revolted.

Only a few seconds had passed, and now both their backs prickled at the sound they heard coming from outside the room's door. A wet slapping of feet and a chorus of inhuman howls. Charon stood and strode over to the door. It had been only a bit ajar to admit the lone invader, and now Charon pulled it the rest of the way open. He turned to Lee. "Stay here. I'm going to check." Without waiting for an answer, he stalked out, low and silent.

Lee carefully pulled off his shirt and wiped his face and neck with the clean back of it, and dropped the sodden mess on the floor. He grabbed his rifle from where it was propped against the wall, and went to the door to look out. They had picked a room on the second floor, which was more like a balcony lined with guardrails that ran around the edges of the main floor. It was still the middle of the night, but the wan moonlight falling in from the broken ceiling showed a huge mass of ghouls wandering around the lobby. They looked disturbed, but none of them had realized the sound had come from this floor yet. Sweat stood out on his chest and he swallowed hard. This would be difficult to get out of. A hand closed on his arm and he had to choke back a scream. He whirled around to see Charon crouched next to him. He let his wide eyes and pale face do the talking for him, as he glanced down at his arm.

"Sorry." Charon whispered. "I came back in through the connecting room." He beckoned and crept back into the room they'd been using. Lee followed.

"Where the hell did they all come from? There's a whole mob of them!"

"I'm gonna guess this place has a basement, and they stay there during the day. I saw a set of stairs leading down and a few milling around." He straightened his armor plates and checked the drum of his shotgun. "Well, so much for a good night's sleep. Let's dispatch these things so we can at least get what rest we can." The two of them were the invading party here, but honestly, after seeing so many ghouls turn feral, it was a mercy to put them down.

Lee drew his rifle around and nodded. He could pick off a few from up here and let Charon take care of whatever found the stairs.

It only took about three shots fired before they got wise and traced the source of the sound. What happened next was a bloodbath. Lee scoped and fired, bullets piercing anything moving slow enough to get a good bead on. Charon roared and tore through the bottlenecked flood of ghouls pounding up towards him. Buckshot vaporized multiple bodies at once, and Charon kicked the rest of them down the stairs when he re-loaded, their thin bodies crunching on the risers. In almost no time at all, the last stragglers were picked off, dying whines fading away to silence again. The floor was covered in blood and the air reeked of the coppery smell. Lee wrinkled his nose and stood to join Charon again.

"Gotta check and make sure we got them all," Charon said, and started carefully walking down the slick stairs. Lee followed, grasping the handrail and gingerly trying to avoid the big puddles of gore.

They stepped over the bodies and went into the back where Charon had seen the supposed basement entrance. There was a set of stairs that yawned onto an empty black hole with a damp breeze blowing out of it.

"That's probably where they came from. Guess we didn't really check the whole place."

Lee stood well back and eyed the hole with distaste. Having Charon the walking natural disaster with him was a considerable morale booster, but the last thing he wanted to do right now was crawl down into that hole to flush out the last remaining ferals. "We're not going in there, are we?"

Charon turned to him with an amused grin on his face. His eyes were alight with some kind of mischief. "No, we don't have to. But, you wanna see scary? Watch." He handed over his gun to a confused Lee, and shook his arms out. "Gotta get into the right mindset," he added. Lee just watched him, still mystified.

Charon stood in front of the hole and let his arms drop forward as his shoulders hunched. His eyes closed and his face went slack. A moment passed. His eyes snapped open and he threw his head back and let out a terrifying howl. The cords stood out on his neck and his hands hooked into claws. Lee's skin prickled, startled at the ferocity and volume of what he heard. But it had somehow worked. He heard answering grunts from the basement and the footsteps that followed. Charon gave his torso a small shake and he turned back for his gun. Lee handed it over and let him finish off the last few hideaways of the hotel. That had to have been it. Unaware he'd been holding his breath, Lee let it out in a whoosh. The way Charon had snapped his head back… and the chilling scream had been as seductive as it was alarming. He felt a warm flush travel over his skin. "No kidding, scary. Did you... talk to them?"

"They don't really talk, just use different tones to communicate general ideas. That was 'I found something good to eat.'"

Lee laughed shakily and swept his hair back from his forehead. He'd felt tense and on-edge since the feral had first peeked over the bedside and the feeling wasn't going away even though the place was now truly empty. Exhilaration still wound through his body, and he fought to keep from shaking and jumping as they trailed through the blood-soaked lobby. He felt a weird thrill from the sensation of Charon following him quietly up the stairs and down the hall back to the room. He heard the low grumbling chuckle that served as Charon's laugh coming from behind him. "What?" he asked.

"What are you excited about?"

Again, stupidly, "Uhhhh, what?"

"The way you're walking, breathing," they had reached the door to the room they'd been sleeping in and Lee paused to push it open. He could feel the ghoul step up close, and he stilled. Charon's face was hovering somewhere behind his ear and the ghoul inhaled deeply. "...your smell, even."

Lee's skin prickled at the soft rush of air over his neck. "Maybe I am." He stepped into the room and turned around grinning to look at the hulking silhouette standing in the doorway. "If you can find me I'll tell you."

Charon folded his arms and leaned against the inside of the doorframe. He looked relaxed, but Lee could see that his muscles were tense and his eyes alert. He smiled, teeth glinting and face looking downright evil in the harsh shadows, and said, "I'll give you a head start then, smoothskin."

Still smiling, Charon closed his eyes. Lee snatched up his stuff and bolted through the side door. As he slunk through the crumbling hallways, heart pounding and skin on fire, he heard another rusty howl erupt from the room where Charon was. The head start had been about twenty seconds, and now the harbinger was on the prowl. _Ready or not, here I come_ , echoed in his head. He moved faster, taking care not to make any noise, but also nearly scrambling along the broken corridors. He knew Charon would find him, but the thrill was in the chase. The hunt.

He ducked into one of the mostly identical rooms at the end of the long hall, sliding the door shut oh so quietly. The room's curtain was open, allowing some small light in but it would be much too noisy to try and shut it. He crawled behind the bed and waited in the deep shadow, willing his hands to stop shaking and straining to hear whatever noises he could pick up beyond the door. The room deadened any sound, and he could only hear and feel the blood beating in his temples. For the longest time, there was only his hoarse breathing, damped down to a quiet pant. Then... the softest creak of a floorboard in the hall. A sniff... and it moved away from the door. Lee had been holding his breath and he now let it out in a tiny rush. The footsteps outside stilled... and came back. Lee cursed himself and felt his heartbeat crank back up to galloping speed. The door shushed open. Charon rounded the bed, eyes shining and face cast in shadow, arms tense and body drawn up to its full intimidating height. Stifling the urge to shriek, Lee cowered back into the wall behind him, both lust and a panicky feeling of familiarity suffusing him. The ghoul stepped forward, leaning down and easily pulling Lee upright by his still bare and blood-sticky upper arms. He lowered his head so that they were face to face, and growled, "Found you."

Lee looked into the blazing blue eyes. Charon's hands were like vices pinning him to the spot. He ran his tongue over his dry lips and whispered, "What are you gonna do, huh?"

Charon's mouth split into that unsettling toothy grin again, and he rasped back, "Hah, watch me."

Lee was tossed onto the nearby bed and Charon followed, practically pouncing on him. The ghoul hovered over his outstretched body, doing nothing for a moment, seeming just to examine him. The light was shit again and Lee couldn't see more than a fuzzy shape in the dark. Heart still pounding, he closed his eyes, anticipating a vicious bite or a rough yank on his hip to flip him over. He was startled when the next point of contact was a feather-light kiss on his jaw. Charon lowered himself closer and rubbed his cheek against the side of Lee's neck, exhaling warm breath across his skin. Lee arched his back into the body hanging over him and groaned quietly at the surprisingly gentle touches. Charon sat back, and rough fingers trailed down Lee's sides and caught at the band of his pants, dragging them down. With no further use for foreplay, Charon's mouth covered him and his hands rested on the thin hips, pulling him closer or pushing him away as the need arose. Lee gasped at the feeling; wondering not only at the soft, almost delicate treatment, but at the act itself. Coherent thought was soon swept away though; the hot wetness of the mouth against him, the pulsing pressure building within, and the powerful hands stroking and massaging his burning skin. It all felt almost... luxurious. He came with a quiet groan, digging his hands into the bed and digging his head back into the pillow. Lee felt oddly harmonious. _I could sleep forever, right now_. He sighed, splaying his arms out across the wide hotel bed. "I wasn't expecting that."

Charon hopped up beside him and pushed at his hip, "Budge over." Lee obliged, pulling up his chinos and rolling over to find a spare shirt in his bag. Charon stretched out on the big double bed and propped his arms behind his head with a small smile. "Expect the unexpected. And get to sleep right now, we're up at dawn."

_Absolutely no argument here_. "You got it..." Lee rolled back, flopped an arm over the ghoul's torso, and buried his face in Charon's side, falling asleep to the smell of the sun-burnt leather.


	36. Rumble at the Memorial

It was another hard trek, but the Citadel hove into view around midday, turrets dumbly watching the river and a few knights on patrol around the perimeter. The morning had been dull and grey and seemingly lifeless; if Charon had been superstitious he would have seen it as a bad omen for sure. But as it was, the lack of breeze and dampness in the air would probably become a thick fog which would be ideal for stealth if the Brotherhood could be convinced to make the move today.

"So what do we do when we get in there?" Lee asked. They were walking around the extremely long concrete wall of the Citadel itself and had a few minutes before they would reach the main gate.

"I think we should talk to Madison first of all. She'll be able to put together what we can tell her about the situation and present it to the Elder better than we could."

"Yeah, probably. I doubt they'd listen to a nobody wastelander and a ghoul, anyway. Dicks."

Charon smiled a little sourly. Very true.

They rounded the corner of the massive structure and came up to the several-ton gate and the guardsmen outside with their sentry bot backup. No matter how many friendly sentries he saw, Lee always got seriously creeped out by them. It just seemed so easy to get a rocket or machinegun fire in the back as soon as you turned away. He eyed the thing suspiciously as Charon talked to the guard on duty. The guard radioed inside and waved them through the gate as it ground upwards to admit them. Lee jumped a little as the sentry's synthesized voice sounded behind them, "Have a nice day."

They found Dr. Li having lunch in the mess hall with a few junior scribes, looking out of place among the sea of young faces in red robes. The low murmurs of the room quieted as the people eating turned to look at the two outsiders standing in the doorway, Madison among them. She finished her bite of food and quickly rose to join them, beckoning them to follow her. As they moved through the hallways to her room she muttered, "It's so hard to get any privacy here but the room they put us up in will have to do." They reached it and stepped inside, closing the door against listening ears and prying eyes. Dr. Li looked like she'd aged a few years in the days they'd been gone; she looked tired and there was definitely a new line or two around her eyes. But her voice was crisp and businesslike as usual.

"So, you're back. _Please_ tell me you've got some good news. Did you find the GECK? The Enclave have been extremely active at the project with these huge force fields the past few days, did you see when you came back?"

Charon and Lee glanced at each other with a grimace; good news wasn't something they had much of at the moment. Lee took a seat on one of the low cots and started telling her what had happened since they'd left the Citadel. Making it out to Vault 87, getting inside and finding the GECK, the Enclave ambush and being taken to Raven Rock, the GECK being delivered and installed at the purifier, the two of them meeting Eden and destroying the base, and Autumn's escape to the memorial.

Her eyes grew wider as the story continued, her hand covered her mouth as she said, "Oh my god... and you made it out..." She closed her eyes and sat on the cot next to Lee, giving him a sidearm squeeze. "I'm glad you're alright, both of you." Lee smiled. She always acted severe, but it was good to see the Auntie Madison side come out every once in a while. "Well, I suppose that explains all the movement at the memorial, but why haven't they activated it yet?" She frowned and stood up to pace the room. Lee started to speak, but she answered herself instead. He could almost see the click as she realized what the problem was. "The code... they don't have the activation code." She paused and looked back at Lee, "But in time they'll be able to brute force the console, no matter how many safeguards James put into the system."

"Right. That's what we need your help with. Come with us to talk to Elder Lyons. We need to get over there _today_ and retake the purifier. Autumn's already had almost three days to work on it and I don't know how much longer our luck is going to hold out. Lyons will listen to you, right? You're friends with him."

Dr. Li shoved her hands into the pockets of her lab coat and made a sarcastic half smile, "Of a sort, yes." After a quick moment of thought she dropped her hands again and made for the door. "No time like the present if he's there now. I don't want the Enclave mucking up my lab worse than they have been."

Lee bounced up off the bed and the two of them formed up like an honor guard, escorting the slim woman through the halls toward the Elder's chambers. As they walked, Lee remembered an issue that'd been brought up before by Charon. In a low murmur, he asked Dr. Li, "The Brotherhood is probably going to want partial or complete control of the purifier in exchange for what we need to get it back. Is that alright with you? Do you mind sharing Project Purity with these people?"

Madison shrugged and turned to speak over her shoulder. "Honestly I just want this over and done with. If it means finally seeing that mechanical island doing what it was supposed to for the last twenty years, I'd work with a talking molerat. So yes, it's fine. Some of the people here I wouldn't at all mind working with."

They were silent the rest of the way there, the only sound the muffled thumps of their boots and the muted clack of Madison's low heels through the halls. Lee was starting to get nervous again. Would the Elder even hear them out? Could they give the Brotherhood a good enough reason to throw their soldiers at the memorial? A cold sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead and he shivered. He glanced up at Charon, still silent beside him. The ghoul looked calm to the point of being bored, as always. He noticed the look Lee was directing at him, and he gave him a barely perceptible nod and the faintest of winks. Lee turned forward again. _If he's not worried, then I won't be either_. He smiled to himself and rolled his eyes. _I am calm. I am at peace_.

Considering the circumstances, the meeting went extremely well. The assault on the memorial was planned for an hour past nightfall, both for tactical reasons and because Lyons needed time to coordinate with the paladins and get the troops ready for battle. Dr. Li had explained the situation with the purifier and how imperative it was that they retake it as soon as possible, and Lee and Charon had interjected a few times with smaller details they'd picked up while at Raven Rock. The plan was risky, but seemed sound. With luck, they could completely eradicate the forces still at the memorial, and the Enclave would be unable to regroup.

For the time being though, Charon and Lee were once again given free rein of the compound until the time for attack came. The corridors were mostly empty; many of the soldiers had left to the courtyard for, assumedly, some kind of strategy meeting. Those that remained were tense and the nearly deserted hallways felt thick with the anticipation of the assault. The two had hours to kill, and the non-action was already wearing on Lee; he was practically storming around with impatience. He burst through a side door and was greeted by a startled yelp.

"Hey! What are you do... Hey wait, you're those two outsiders aren't you? The ones who came over from the Jefferson Memorial?"

The room belonged to a young kid. He'd been sitting at his desk reading a datapad and was now twisted around in his chair staring at them curiously.

_Oops_. "Uh, yeah, I guess we are. Sorry about barging in like that, didn't know this was someone's room." Lee started to close the door and back out.

"Uhh... wait!"

Lee stopped, face questioning and Charon waiting solidly behind him.

The kid's eyes shifted around, looking a little embarrassed. "If you're not busy... do you wanna hang out?"

Lee glanced back at Charon. The ghoul shrugged and asked, "Got anything to do around here for a few hours?"

And that was how they ended up playing poker and exchanging stories with Arthur Maxson. The three of them crowded around Arthur's small writing desk and held fans of cards from an ancient, dog-eared deck. Charon was good, Lee was terrible, and after a bit of coaching, Arthur was turning out to be a surprisingly apt player.

"So how'd you know who we are?" Lee asked, looking at his cards with poorly concealed disgust.

"Oh, I hear lots of stuff when I walk around the base. I'm in training to be an initiate, but I guess no one thinks to watch what they say around me." He fumbled the cards around in his small hands, narrowly keeping them from spilling them on the table. "Almost everyone's marching on the memorial tonight to beat the Enclave... are you going too?"

Charon tossed three cards back and picked up his new ones. "You're looking at the entire infiltration team right here."

Arthur looked surprised. "Wow. You guys must be good. Not just cuz there's only two of you, but I didn't think Elder Lyons would trust outsiders to do something like that. He'd usually send a recon team for infil... uh. Infiltration."

Lee frowned and exchanged two cards. "Yeah, this is kind of a special case. We had to argue a bit to get him to say yes, but he let up in the end. Two people can sneak over to the island, slip in, and take out their leader and remove any immediate threats to the purifier inside. 'Sneaking over' is going to involve a lot of swimming through freezing water, so I'm not looking forward to that, but we gotta do it." Charon nodded as he rearranged his hand. Lee laid his cards down. "Pair of tens and pair of fours," he declared triumphantly.

Charon snapped his down, "Three sevens."

Arthur shuffled his around some more and lay them out. "Full house?"

Lee grabbed his head and howled at the ceiling while the other two laughed and pushed the cards together in a pile. Charon dealt, and Lee mumbled, "I would destroy _both_ of you in slapjack." He rolled his eyes and dug into his backpack, bringing out an extremely odd device. It was a small black box with a switch on the side and a dish-shaped reflector sticking out the top. "Know what this is?"

Arthur picked it up and traced a fingernail over the lightning bolt symbol engraved on the bottom. "Yeah, it's an EMP device from the scribes in the lab, right? Is it for those big glowy force fields over there?"

"Yep. We're gonna find the faulty one and deactivate it with-"

The light in the room flashed red and a low siren blared out. An electronic voice followed shortly, "All troops meet in the courtyard for imminent deployment. Repeat. All troops meet in the courtyard for imminent deployment."

Charon stood and dusted off his hands. "It's time."

Lee felt zing of fear, or maybe excitement, as he stood as well, stuffing the EMP back in his bag. "Already? Better get out there then."

The two moved towards the door and were surprised when Arthur followed them into the hallway. "You're not going out there are you?" Lee asked. _He said he was in training but I hope they're not_ that _zealous with it._

"Me? Oh, no. I'm gonna go up to the balconies on the roof and watch the whole thing from there." He turned away from them and hurried down the hall, stopping once to call back, "Good luck! Come back and play more cards with me sometime!"

They waved, and quickly walked the other way to the exit doors. They weren't going to be part of the group, but they needed to leave the compound and let Lyons know that they were on their way. They stepped out of B Ring and into the spot-lit patio of the courtyard. The sky was dark now, and there was indeed a light speckle of mist in the air. The Brotherhood soldiers were queued up into teams, and they were all conspicuously standing away from the circular silo doors in the center of the area. _Curious_. They threaded their way through the squads, receiving a few nods and quick taps of laser rifles to helmets in a kind of salute. Lyons stood at the forefront and they raised their hands to him as they made their way out the front gate. He gave an imperial nod and turned back to begin addressing his troops. The gate shut behind them, and Lyons' words were cut off. They looked at each other and started making their way towards the first checkpoint.

They walked along the road next to the riverside, trying not to stare at the memorial, but the eye was always drawn back to the electric blue walls rising around the building. They made it to a little chunk of land stretching into the water towards the memorial island. This was the best spot to swim across. Both of them took a minute to eye the glassy black water. It looked really damn cold. Charon nudged Lee. "Better get started, we're on a time limit." Lee sighed and they both started shucking their armor and clothes off. This was going to be tough enough without the added weight of swimming with clothes on, plus the good chance of hypothermia if they went around in wet stuff afterwards. Lee dug in his pack and brought out something that had been called a 'fluid insulator package' by Elder Lyons during the meeting. The package, two stealth boys, and the EMP were given them by the scribes in the lab as their equipment for the mission, and Lee had burst out laughing when he saw what was being handed to him when he asked for the thing. It was a large, clear plastic bag. Very useful item to have right now, but Lee couldn't help but feel Lyons had been having a little fun at their expense. They dropped their clothing, guns, and Lee's pack into the bag, and Lee bound the top tightly with a scrap of twine. Now all their heavy equipment was a balloon they could float along behind them in the water. They would've looked very odd if anyone had happened to be paying attention at the moment. He turned to Charon and made a helpless grimace.

"Sooner we get this over with the better," Charon answered, not looking very happy either. "Just hope our chattering teeth don't give us away."

They stepped into the water, river mud squelching under foot, and the water feeling like it was burning their skin. Calf-deep, and Lee felt like he would never be warm again.

"H-holy moley." He poked Charon with his free hand. "Race you over there, y'g-goddamn ghoul."

"Ugh." Charon took another step forward and got ready for immersion. "You're on, smoothskin. Quietly."

They sank into the water and sucked in a breath at the horrible shock of the cold surrounding them. Lee's vision swam and he shook his head, pushing away the wave of faintness. He trailed the bag of stuff behind him and silently stroked out toward the land ahead of them. Between breaths he mumbled, "Watch, by the time we get over there the water won't seem so bad. That's how it always is."

Charon just grunted and they kept on moving. The chill of the water threatened to make their muscles cramp and seize several times, but if it happened, they just stopped and treaded water for a moment to rub some life back into the protesting limb. Thankfully the river current wasn't strong here so there wasn't anything to fight against. A few agonizing minutes later, and they shuffled up out of the water and stopped against the outer memorial guard wall. There was only a light breeze, but it felt like a gale of ice-cold wind on their dripping bodies. "Gaaaaah," muttered Lee under his breath. Keeping the rustling down to a minimum, he dug some thin blankets out of his pack for them to dry off with. Soon they were re-dressed and feeling considerably more cheerful. Maybe not warm, but not feeling like a walking glacier anymore, and they'd made it to checkpoint two. Now they had to wait for the signal. It wouldn't be long in coming, so Lee emptied and re-folded the 'fluid insulator package' and replaced it, bringing out the stealth boys and EMP. He gestured to Charon, and they slowly snuck forward to get a view of the access bridge.

Their timing had been good, and the wait wasn't long at all. A few minutes had gone by, and then a distant crunching thump could be heard. Again. Again. Like footsteps.

"Oh my god. _Look_ at that thing," Lee whispered breathlessly.

An enormous robot was walking up the street past the bridge. Lee couldn't begin to guess how tall it was, but it dwarfed everything around it. Lee had thought the dark would make it hard to know when their cue was, but the Brotherhood had really gone all out on the distraction. The troops behind the robot were firing lasers and carrying portable spotlights, and the robot itself was tossing some kind of explosive and trumpeting loud enough to wake the dead. They could hear shouting beyond the wall and realized the Enclave were awake and responding. Now was the time.

They both activated their stealth boys and each laid a hand on the other's shoulder. Lee whispered, "Let's go get that fucker." Charon squeezed his arm and they set off.

The battle roared at the bridge. The Brotherhood had been instructed not to fire haphazardly towards the memorial so the two of them wouldn't be hit. Most of the Enclave forces had been drawn towards the bridge, and it looked like the robot had managed to severely damage the force field directly between the two groups, so the battle was raging in earnest. They had to hurry and get inside before Autumn realized something serious was going on and did something to damage the purifier. Lee figured he wouldn't be above a 'if I can't have it, no one will' attitude.

They scooted over to the damaged energy pylon, easily recognizable from the flicker of the shield every few seconds. Lee set the EMP on the ground facing the dish at the small generator on the pole and tapped Charon's shoulder. He got a tap back, and flipped the switch. The two backed away and waited for the device to work. After a few seconds, a high-pitched whine came from the force field and it flickered once more before dying completely. Lee turned off the box and pocketed it again. The way forward was open. It didn't seem any Enclave had hung back to guarddog the sides or back of the island, so they moved forward, keeping to the shadows. The door was soon in front of them, and Lee reached out to open it, feeling a twinge of sadness at the memory of coming here only weeks ago on better terms. He pulled it open and they were inside.

It was dead silent on the inside. Laser-fire, the heavy chop of vertibirds, and the booming thud of large artillery could still be heard outside, but it was muted and distant. They walked down the halls, fully expecting armed guards to burst out at any moment. But there was no one. Charon began to feel nervous, but all they could do was move forward towards the rotunda and their goal. Lee's heart thumped as they walked, the few seconds spun out into long, syrupy things that took forever to complete and begin again. But here they were in view of the rotunda door. And it was standing wide open. Autumn faced away from them, standing in the middle of the floor watching the column of water before him swirling and glowing to the sound of an engine below them. Lee's anger at everything this man had done out of selfish greed came whistling back as he looked at the lone figure waiting in the room.

He tapped Charon's nearly invisible shoulder and pointed at Autumn, then mimed grabbing him. Charon tapped him back and they glided forward into the glowing green room. Charon darted at Autumn and grabbed him in a half nelson to keep him still and his hand away from his gun.

Autumn jerked from being startled, but his voice was calm when he spoke, "I wondered when you would show up."

"I don't want to listen to whatever evil speech you have saved up." Lee's hand dropped to Charon's belt and yanked the big hunting knife he carried out of its sheath. "Cheat your way out of this one, you slimy bastard." And he sank the blade deep into Autumn's lower back, twisting it and pulling it back out.

Charon let go and Autumn slowly sank forward, dropping to his hands and knees. Blood pattered onto the floor as he knelt, looking black in the ghostly green light. Autumn coughed and retched, but spoke in a fevered voice from his spot on the floor, "I knew you were coming. Heh. If you don't turn this thing on, it's going to blow sky high." He sighed. "I'm not sorry for what I've done, only sorry I couldn't give this machine to the American people." His strength ran out, and he slumped forward, last breath passing his lips.

"Not sorry. You fuck." Lee spat on the floor next to the corpse. He wiped his mouth and stepped past Autumn to the ramp leading to the central chamber. Charon followed, turning around to watch for anyone following them. Nothing there. Just the pulsing machine before them. They walked into the middle ring and as Charon was about to warn Lee of the radiation he suddenly felt, the airlock door shushed closed behind them, sealing them inside. Charon pounded a fist against the glass, but it was double layered and several inches thick.

"Don't bother. We're trapped in here," came Lee's voice. "This must be why he stayed behind, vindictive asshole. Someone's rigged the door to shut, and if he was telling the truth, for this thing to explode if it isn't activated soon." True enough, once the doors had shut, the engine noise below them began to get louder.

"You'd better activate it then. An explosion in here will kill us, plus there's quite a bit of radiation seeping out from this center tube."

Lee looked blankly at the console in front of him. A pad of numbers, 0-9, plus an enter key. He'd mocked Autumn once for not having the code, but honestly, he didn't know what it was either. They'd come solely to get rid of Autumn; he wasn't prepared to actually activate it.

Charon's voice was starting to sound worried now, "You... know what the code is, right?"

Lee squinted his eyes shut and covered his face with his hands. "Ahhh. Shut up and let me think for a second."

The engine had gotten louder and now seemed to be thrumming faster than before. He could faintly hear the hundreds of gallons of water in front of him rushing through the tube. _The code, the code. A numerical code. The code to the purifier. The code to water. Clean water. The water of..._

His hands dropped down. Feeling oddly serene, he said, "I know the code, sure I do." He shut his eyes again and listened to the voice that spoke up. A soft, faintly-accented voice that he'd heard all his life; instructing, reassuring, disciplining, loving, guiding.

( _It was your mother's favorite passage_.)

Lee smiled and held out a hand to Charon. The stealth boys had worn off, and Charon could see tears leaking unheeded down Lee's face. He was feeling panicked at the amount of time that had gone by, but Lee seemed to have figured out what they needed. He reached over and took Lee's hand in his own. "I don't know what's going to happen, maybe activating it will blow us up as well. But we've gotta try, right?" He turned back to the console and stretched out his other hand to the buttons. "He always liked telling me about that quote. 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.'" Pressing the buttons as he spoke, he finished the phrase, "'Revelations _twenty-one six_.' Enter."

As he pressed the final button, the water in front of them turned a blinding white, and the noise below them rose to a scream. It cycled louder and louder, followed by a hollow thud, and a wave of radiation washed over them. Within seconds, the two fell to the floor, hands still clasped.


	37. The Gates of Hell

Lee was dreaming again. He knew it because he was at his house in Megaton, sat on the corrugated metal roof. He looked around the city and saw a multitude of people coursing around. None of them looked up to see him, but he still watched.

A voice talked to him. He didn't hear it as words, but simply as a force communicating with him. It said, 'Look.' And Lee turned to the wall beside him, Megaton's guard wall, and looked through a small hole where a chunk of siding had fallen in. He looked and saw the wasteland outside.

But it was no longer really a "waste" at all. The sky was blue. Bluer than he'd ever seen before. And there were new trees sprouting, tiny things that were thin and stunted, but would grow to be tall and hopefully green. Thin patches of newly growing grass in the dusty earth. Ponds of water that were clean and free from radiation. He looked at everything, amazed and enthralled. The voice spoke again. 'You did well. I'm proud of you, son.' Lee felt a pang of emotion, longing? Sadness? Relief? And turned back to the city full of people. _It was done then, that's good_.

He heard the familiar creak of his trapdoor opening behind him, and turned to see who it was. But the dream was fading, and was gone before he could see who was coming.

He floated in a grey warmth, not feeling much of anything. His mind didn't seem to be working very well. _Of course not, I'm asleep_. And then he could feel his arms... legs... feet. With an effort, he willed his eyes to open. He was rewarded with a tiny crack of light. _Try again_. They opened this time. Orange light came from the cracked ceiling above him, and a strangely familiar smell was here too. Muscles in his neck protesting angrily, he slowly turned his neck to the side. He licked his lips, appalled at how dry they felt, and tried to speak. Nothing. _Try again_. "Ch... Charon," came the hoarse whisper.

The ghoul sitting against the far wall snapped his head up immediately, eyes wide. He stood and walked over to the bed Lee was lying in, sitting on the edge of the mattress. "You're awake."

Lee nodded carefully. He felt like he'd forgotten how to use his body. "We... didn't die, huh?"

Charon barked a laugh and scratched his hair back from his forehead in a shaky gesture. He glanced around them and answered, "Well, we're in Underworld, but we aren't dead yet."

Lee looked down at himself. He was covered in a sheet, but his arms were laid on top and they were full of IV needles. The needles were attached to clear tubes that snaked away above and behind him. The arms themselves looked thinner than usual and he raised them to look, with an effort. "What happened? The purifier's okay, right?"

"Yes. The purifier is fine and working. Dr. Li sent this over a few days ago, you were out for a long time. More than a week" Charon pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

Lee read:

_Charon,_

_Project Purity is finally finished thanks to you two and the sacrifices of the Brotherhood. Things are up and running and we're beginning to work on routes for water distribution._

_I hope Lee is well and the doctor in Underworld was able to take care of the radiation poisoning. It's possible someone in the Citadel could've taken care of it, but I believe you if you say your man is a specialist. Come back and see us when you're ready, and so help me you'd better take care of that kid._

_Best regards,_

_Madison_

Lee laughed, "Heh heh heh, you better do what she says, don't want her mad at you." Charon rolled his eyes. "I was sort of named for her, you know. My mom's choice." He reached over and patted Charon's knee. "Well, that's it. We did it, Charon. Everything turned out."

Charon raised an eyebrow and smiled down at Lee's thin face. "Are you crying?"

Lee sniffed and realized his face was wet. _Yep_. "You're crying too, you big baby," he croaked.

Charon touched his cheek with surprise. _Must be the relief_. "Yeah, guess I am." He leaned down and kissed Lee's forehead with a watery smile. It was over. He laughed again and said, "Rest up and we can leave tomorrow."


End file.
